The court affirmed the right to round off the disability pension percentage as established in prior Supreme Court cases.

Harsimran Singh Sethi, J. (Oral)

1. In the present petition, the challenge is to the impugned order dated 07.08.2024 (Annexure P-1) passed by respondent No.1-Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Chandigarh, (in short, ‘the Tribunal’) by which, the husband of respondent No.2 has been allowed the benefit of rounding off the disability element of disability pension @ 50% as against 30% w.e.f.

01.09.2002 to 31.12.2015 on the ground that the same is perverse.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners places reliance upon the report of medical examination of husband of respondent No.2 to contend that though the disability of ‘Primary Hypertension” has been found in husband of respondent No.2, which was attributed to the military service and he was granted disability pension keeping in view the disability of 30% as assessed by the medical Board but now the grant of benefit of rounding off the disability pension to respondent No.2 by rounding off the disability element @ 50% as against 30% w.e.f. 01.09.2002 to 31.12.2015 by placing reliance upon the judgment of in Civil Appeal No. 5591-2006 titled as KJS Buttar vs. Union of India and another , decided on 31.03.2011 and Civil Appeal No.418-2012 Union of India and others vs. Ram Avtar , decided on 10.12.2014 is incorrect and the facts of the present case have not been appreciated in correct perspective by the Tribunal while passing the impugned order dated 07.08.2024 (Annexure P-1).

3. We have heard learned counsel for the petitioners and have gone through the case file with his able assistance.

4. It is a conceded fact that at the time when husband of respondent No.2 was discharged from service on 31.08.2002 on completion of his terms of engagement under Army Rule 13(3) Item I (i), he had already rendered 28 years of service with the petitioners-Union of India, he was found suffering from Primary Hypertension and disability was 30% which was held to be attributable to the Army and disability pension was granted. As per the order of the Tribunal, husband of the respondent No.2 once entitled for disability pension at the time of discharge in 2002, he is entitled for the benefit of rounding off as per policy of Government of India and the law settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Ram Avtar’s case (supra) and his widow Smt. Bhateri is held entitled for the same benefit w.e.,f. 01.09.2002 to 31.12.2015. Relevant paragraph of the judgment in Ram Avtar’s case (supra) is as under:-

“4. By the present set of appeals the appellant(s) raise the question, whether or not, an individual, who has retired on attaining the age of superannuation or on completion of his tenure of engagement, if found to be suffering from some disability which is attributable to or aggravated by the military service, is entitled to be granted the benefit of rounding-off of disability pension. The appellant(s) herein would contend that, on the basis of Circular No. 1(2)/97/D(Pen-C) issued by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, dated 31.01.2001, the aforesaid benefit is made available only to an Armed Forces Personnel who is invalidated out of service, and not to any other category of Armed Forces Personnel mentioned hereinabove.

5. We have heard learned counsel for the parties to the lis.

6. We do not see any error in the impugned judgment(s) and order(s) and therefore all the appeals which pertain to the concept of rounding-off of the disability pension are dismissed, with no order as to costs.

7. The dismissal of these matters will be taken note of by the High Courts as well as by the Tribunals in granting appropriate relief to the pensioners before th