50 years after discharge for psychiatric disorder, soldier gets disability benefits

Fifty years after being invalidated out of the Army on medical grounds for psychiatric disorders, a soldier has been granted disability benefits after the Armed Forces Tribunal held that a disability —  even if initially assessed as temporary — must be considered permanent because the individual would never be able to re-join service even if their level of disability reduces later.

The soldier, Sali Ram Arya, was enrolled in the Corps of Signals in July 1965 and in 1975, he was found to be suffering from ‘manic depressive psychosis’. Thereafter, he was brought before an invaliding medical board in October 1975, which assessed the disability to be 40 per cent for two years, but held it to be neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.

Accordingly, he was invalided from service after having rendered 10 years and three months of service. While he was granted service element of pension only, his claim for the disability element was rejected by the authorities in July 1977.

In his petition before the AFT, he submitted that a perusal of the Invaliding Medical Board showed that he was enrolled in a fit medical condition and his disablement took place after 10 years of service. He contended that holding his disability as not attributable to military service conflicted with the law laid down by the Supreme Court and he was entitled to disability pension for life.

“It cannot be disputed that the soldier has been invalided from service on account of his medical condition. He will never be brought back into service. Even if the extent of disability reduces, the applicant would not be re-enrolled. Thus, the disability is effectively permanent in nature,” the Tribunal’s Chandigarh Bench comprising Justice Sudhir Mittal and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh observed in their order of October 23.

It has been conclusively held by the Supreme Court that any disability arising during the course of service must be held to be attributable to or aggravated by military service. In the instant case, the Invaliding Medical Board shows that the applicant was fit for enrolment in service and the disability occurred sometime in August 1975. Therefore, the finding by the Invaliding Medical Board that the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service was illegal,” the Bench ruled.

The Bench directed the authorities to issue a fresh pension payment order within three months granting the soldier disability element of pension at the rate of 40 per cent, rounded off to 50 per cent, for life with effect from November 1975. The arrears of pension, however, would be restricted to three before the date of moving the AFT in accordance with directives issued on the subject by the Supreme Court.