ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL, REGIONAL BENCH, JAIPUR

20.

OA No 197/2021 with MA No 280/2019 No-137322Y Ex LEM (R)* Ramesh Kumar, S/o Late Sh.

Bharat Singh, R/o House No 282, Village-Mirzapur, Tehsil & Distt-Hisar-125005 (Haryana), at present R/o 262A, Officer Campus, Sirsi Road, Jaipur …. Applicant Versus

1. The Union of India, through the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, New Delhi

2. The PCDA (P), Navy EDP Centre, No. 1 Cooprage Road, Coloba, Mumbai – 400001

3. The Naval Pension office, C/o INS, Tanaji …. Respondents Sion-Trombay Road, Mankhurd, Mumbai – 400088 For Applicant : Mr Sunil Kumar, Advocate For Respondents : Mr Pyare Lal, Advocate CORAM HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE GOVERDHAN BARDHAR, MEMBER (J)

HON’BLE MR SANJIV MITTAL, MEMBER (A)

O R D E R

13.08.2025 MA No 280/2019

1. MA No 280/2019 has been filed by the Applicant for condonation of delay of 28 days in filing the OA. Having considered the reasons and grounds stated in the MA, the delay in filing the OA is condoned.

OA No 197/2021

2. By way of this Application under Section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act 2007, the Applicant has prayed for grant of Disability Element of Disability Pension along with Rounding Off benefits for life wef 01.08.2018 and that the arrears be paid along with interest @ 18% per annum.

3. The brief facts of the case, as enunciated by the Applicant are that the Applicant was enrolled in the Navy on 31.07.2003. While in Service, he suffered from the disability “PIVD LV4-L5” and was placed in low medical category and on completion of terms of engagement, he was discharged from Service on 31.07.2018, for which he has been granted Service Pension for life. The duly constituted Release Medical Board assessed his disability @ 20% for life and opined it as Aggravated by Naval Service, however, the net assessment was arbitrarily reduced to 10% on account of his unwillingness for surgery. Therefore, his claim for grant of Disability Pension was rejected by the Competent Authority, the disability being below 20%. In support of his claim, the Applicant has placed reliance on Hon’ble Supreme Court judgments in the case of Sukhvinder Singh Vs UOI & Ors, (2014) STP 468 SC, Dharamvir Singh Vs UOI & Ors (2013) 7 SCC 316 and UOI & Anr Vs Rajbir Singh, JT 2015(2) SC 392,. During the course of arguments, Learned Counsel for the Applicant also placed reliance on this Tribunal Order dt 20.03.2025 in OA No 134/2023 in the case of Ex L/Nk Jitendra Kumar Meena Vs UOI & Ors. The Applicant made representation as also issued Legal Notice for the aforesaid prayer, but to no avail.

Therefore, the aggrieved Applicant has filed the present OA.

4. The Respondents filed a detailed reply to the Application and while not disputing the basic facts presented by the Applicant, they have submitted that the Applicant refused to undergo surgery for the disability suffered by him and was discharged from service on completion of terms of engagement. The duly constituted Release Medical Board assessed his disability @ 20% for life, but as the Applicant had rendered his unwillingness for Surgery, the disability was reduced by 10% and net assessment qualifying for disability pension was assessed @10% for life. Since the final disability of the Applicant was below 20%, he was not granted Disability Pension in terms of Rule 104 of Pension Regulations for the Navy, 1964. In view of the aforesaid averments, the Respondents have reiterated that the OA is devoid of merit and deserves to be dismissed.

5. After going through the averments of the Learned Counsels and the material available on record, the following facts emerge :-

(a) The Applicant was discharged from service on 31.07.2018 on expiry of engagement and has been granted Service Pension for life.

(b) The Applicant refused to undergo surgery, therefore, his disability could not be cured and, consequently, he was discharged from Service on expiry of engagement (c) His Disability was assessed at 20% for life and opined as Aggravated by Military Se