CHANDIGARH

222+223 Decided on : 09.02.2026 UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS . .Petitioners Versus SATYAVART AND ANOTHER . . . Respondents

223 CWP-23840-2024 (O&M)

UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS . .Petitioners Versus EX HFO JAG MOHAN LAL GARG, AND ANR . . . Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIKAS SURI PRESENT: Mr. Sushant Kareer, Advocate for the petitioner in CWP-23265-2024.

Mr. Ashish Chaudhary,Senior Panel counsel for the petitioners-UOI in CWP No. 23840-2024.

Mr. Rajat Chauhan, Advocate for Ms. Jasneet Kaur, Advocate for respondent No. 1 in CWP No. 23840-2024.

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HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI , J. (Oral)

1. Both the present petitions, the details of which are mentioned in the heading, involve common point of law and common set of facts, hence, they are being dealt together. For the sake of convenience, the facts are being taken from CWP-23265-2024

2. In the present petition, challenge is to the impugned order dated 05.04.2024 (Annexure P-1) passed by respondent No.2 -Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench Chandigarh (in short, ‘the Tribunal’) by which, respondent No.1 has been allowed the benefit of disability element of disability pension alongwith benefit of rounding off of the disability element of disability pension from 50 % to 75% for life, from the day next to the date of his discharge from service i.e.01.05.2021.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners in CWP-23265-2024 places reliance upon the report of medical examination of the respondent No. 1 to contend that though the disability of “Coronary Artery Disease Old Inferior Wall MI Moderate LV Dysfunction ICD D 15.1- Heart” @ 50% for life has been found to be existing in respondent No.1, but the same was assessed as to be ‘neither attributable to Military Service nor aggravated by the Air Force’ and hence, the grant of benefit of disability pension to respondent No. 1 by placing reliance upon the judgment of Tribunal inDharamvir Singh vs. Union of India and others, (2013) 7 SCC 316 is arbitrary and illegal and even the benefit of rounding off of disability pension has been wrongly granted to respondent No. 1 in terms of Union of India and others vs. Ram Avtar, 2014 SCC Online SC 1761.

3.A. Learned counsel for the petitioners in CWP No. 23840 of 2024, argues that respondent No. 1 was detected ‘Coronary Artery Disease’ @ 30% for life but the same was neither attributable nor aggravated by the Air Force service and therefore grant of benefit is arbitrary and illegal.

4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the case file with their able assistance.

5. In CWP-23265-2024, it is a conceded fact that at the time when respondent No.1 was discharged from service on 30.04.2021 he had already rendered more than 40 years of service with the petitioners-Union of India. It is also a conceded fact that at the time when respondent No. 1 joined the armed forces i.e. on 05.01.1981, he was medically examined and was found not to be suffering from any such disease and was found to be medically fit and at the time of his discharge, he was found to be suffering from disability of “Coronary Artery Disease Old Inferior Wall MI Moderate LV Dysfunction ICD D 15.1- Heart” @ 50% for life. The said fact had been made the basis by the Tribunal while granting benefit to the respondent No.1 by placing reliance upon the judgment of in Dharamvir Singh ’s case (Supra) and Ram Avtar’s case (Supra)

6. Qua grievance of petitioners qua grant of benefit of disability element of disability pension to respondent No.1, It should be noted that as per judgment in Dharamvir Singh vs. Union of India and others, (2013) 7 SCC 316 . in a case where army personnel is found to be fit at the time of enrolment, and has later been found to be contracted with a disease, same is presumed to have been contracted with during the time such personnel was rendering service in military and as such same is to be attributed to military service or be regarded as having been aggravated