The medical board's failure to provide justified reasons for denying disability pension undermines the decision, necessitating the presumption of service-related attribution for the disability.

J U D G M E N T

Johnson John, J.

The order of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Kochi rejecting the claim of the petitioner for disability pension is under challenge in this writ petition.

2. Heard Sri. Ratheesh B., the learned counsel for the petitioner and Smt. O.M. Shalina, the learned Deputy Solicitor General of India appearing for the respondents.

3. The petitioner was enrolled in the Indian Air Force on

08.08.1996 and was medically invalided out from service on 20.06.2002 due to type I diabetes. The Release Medical Board assessed the disability at 20% for life. But, as per the opinion of the Release Medical Board, the disability is neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service and the Tribunal found no reason to differ from the findings of the Medical Board and therefore, found that the petitioner is not eligible for disability pension.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner was invalided out from service and that he was enrolled in the Air Force in a medically and physically fit condition and that the Release Medical Board has not given any reason for the conclusion that the disability is endocrine disorder not related to military service.

5. Regulation 153 of Pension Regulations for the Air Force Part-I, 1961, deals with ‘the primary conditions for the grant of disability pension’ and the same reads thus:

“Primary conditions for the grant of disability pension

153. Unless otherwise specifically provided, a disability pension may be granted to an individual who is invalided from service on account of a disability which is attributable to or aggravated by air force service and is assessed at 20 per cent or over.

The question whether a disability is attributable to or aggravated by air force service shall be determined under the regulations in Appendix II.”

6. The relevant portions in Appendix II to the said Regulations read as follows:

2. Disablement or death shall be accepted as due to air force service provided it is certified that :-

(a) the disablement is due to a wound, injury or disease which ----

(i) is attributable to air force service ; or (ii) existed before or arose during air force reserve service and has been and remains aggravated thereby ; (b) the death was due to or hastened by ----

(i) a wound, injury or disease which was attributable to air force service;

(ii) the aggravation by air force service of a wound, injury or disease which existed before or arose during air force service.

3. There must be a casual connection between disablement and air force service for attributability or aggravation to be conceded.

4. In deciding on the issue of entitlement all the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, will be taken into account and the benefit of reasonable doubt will be given to the claimant. This benefit will be given more liberally to the claimant in field service cases.”

7. In Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India and Others [(2013)

7 SCC 316), the Honourable Supreme Court held that a member of Armed Forces is presumed to be in sound physical and mental condition upon entering service, if there is no note or entry to the contrary in his records.

8. In Union of India and another v. Rajbir Singh [(2015) 12 SCC 264] , the Honourable Supreme Court held that provision for payment for disability pension is a beneficial provision which ought to be interpreted liberally so as to benefit those who have been sent home with disability at times even before they completed their tenure in the Armed Forces.

9. In Veer Pal Singh v. Secretary, Ministry of Defence [(2013) 8 SCC 83] , the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that alt