Delhi HC Orders Ex-Gratia For Two Invalidated BSF Constables After Medical Boards Found Service Aggravated Their PTSD And Anxiety

Both petitioners were appointed as BSF Constables (GD) after being found medically fit.

During service, each developed medical conditions and was invalidated from service on medical grounds.

The Medical Boards assessed each petitioner’s disability at 40% and recorded that the relevant disabilities were contracted in service and aggravated by service-related stress and strain, although not attributable to service conditions.

For Vipin Kumar, that finding was restricted to PTSD; for Krishan Kumar, it was restricted to Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The petitioners sought ex-gratia compensation under Ministry of Home Affairs Office Memorandums dated 21 April 2011 and 7 June 2017.

The respondents did not dispute that the cases were covered by those OMs and the cited precedent.

The MHA OM dated 21 April 2011 provides ex-gratia compensation to CAPF personnel boarded out due to a disability attributable to or aggravated by service: Rs. 9 lakhs for 100% disability, proportionately reduced for a lesser percentage.

The OM dated 7 June 2017 revised the amount to Rs. 20 lakhs for 100% disability, effective 1 January 2016, with proportionate compensation for lesser disabilities.

The Court applied the Division Bench decisions in Kalu Ram v. Union of India and Others, 2025 SCC OnLine Del 9748, and Hari Prakash v. Union of India and Others, 2026 SCC OnLine Del 2256, as supporting entitlement to ex-gratia compensation where the Medical Board’s findings establish the relevant service-related aggravation.

The Medical Boards’ opinions formed the basis for the petitioners’ invalidation and were accepted by the respondents.

The respondents therefore could not dispute the recorded disability assessments or the findings that the specified conditions were aggravated by service-related stress and strain.

Applying the OMs and Kalu Ram and Hari Prakash, the Court held that the petitioners’ cases fell within the compensation scheme, while noting that the service-related aggravation finding applied only to the identified psychiatric conditions in each case.

If payment was not made within that period, the amounts would carry interest at 12% per annum from the respective dates of discharge until actual payment.