Court Applies Presumption in Favor of Armed Forces Personnel, Grants Disability Pension with Rounding Off Benefits in Landmark Judgment
In a significant ruling dated October 13, 2026, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court (Division Bench) dismissed the writ petition filed by the Union of India challenging the Armed Forces Tribunal's order granting disability pension to No. 2462902 Ex. Lance Naik Babu Ram. The petitioners had contested the Tribunal's decision which awarded disability pension with the benefit of rounding off, despite the Release Medical Board's opinion that the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.
Babu Ram, who initially joined the Indian Army in 1971 and later re-enrolled in the Defence Security Corps (DSC) in 1998, developed "Bilateral Cataract (Optd) with Pseudophakia ICD" during his service. At the time of his discharge in 2008, the Release Medical Board assessed his disability at 15-19% but opined that it was not service-related, leading to rejection of his claim for disability pension.
Challenging this, Babu Ram approached the Armed Forces Tribunal which, after careful examination, held that since no disability was recorded at the time of initial or re-enrolment, and the disability manifested during service, the statutory presumption favored the serviceman. The Tribunal granted him disability pension at 50% after rounding off the assessed disability percentage, in line with Supreme Court precedents such as Union of India v. Ram Avtar.
The High Court concurred with the Tribunal's approach, underscoring that the opinion of the Medical Board, though important, is not conclusive and must be supported by reasons. Since the Medical Board failed to assign reasons for denying attributability or aggravation, the statutory presumption in favor of the respondent could not be rebutted. The Court relied on landmark Supreme Court judgments including Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India (2013) and Union of India v. Rajbir Singh (2015) which establish that if no disability is noted at enrolment and the disability surfaces during service, it is presumed to be service-related unless disproved.
Further, the Court rejected the contention that disability pension should be denied merely because the assessed disability was below 20%. The ruling emphasized that the disability pension scheme is a beneficial provision intended to secure the financial interests of armed forces personnel suffering disability during service and must be interpreted liberally in their favor.
The petition by the Union of India was therefore dismissed, affirming the entitlement of Ex. Lance Naik Babu Ram to disability pension with rounding off benefits and directing payment of arrears subject to verification.
This judgment reinforces the protective legal framework for armed forces personnel, ensuring that those who develop disabilities during service are duly compensated, even when medical opinions are inconclusive or lack detailed reasoning.
Bottom Line:
Disability pension - Armed Forces personnel - Where no disability was recorded at the time of enrolment or re-enrolment and disability manifested during service, presumption operates in favour of serviceman - Medical Board opinion denying attributability/aggravation without reasons is not conclusive - Disability pension with rounding off rightly granted.
Statutory provision(s): Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961 Regulation 179, Pension Regulations for the Defence Security Corps Regulation 266, Articles 226 of the Constitution of India
