01Facts
The Union of India filed writ petitions challenging judgments of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, which granted disability pension to the respondents.
The disabilities included hypertension, diabetes, cardiac conditions and seizures, among others; the Release Medical Boards had generally found them neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service, often because they arose in peace areas.
pp. 8–11The respondents relied on Supreme Court and Delhi High Court decisions concerning attribution and aggravation of disabilities arising during service. The Union did not dispute that those authorities covered the issues raised in the petitions.
p. 1102Issues
i.1. Whether the fact that a disability arose in a peace area, by itself, establishes that it was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.
p. 11ii.2. Whether the Tribunal’s disability-pension awards, applying the governing presumptions and burden of proof, disclosed any infirmity warranting interference in writ jurisdiction.
pp. 11–1203Law Applied
The Court applied the principles in Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India, (2013) 7 SCC 316, and Union of India v. Rajbir Singh, 2015 SCC OnLine SC 119, as well as the Delhi High Court’s decision in Union of India v. Ex Sub Gawas Anil Madso, 2025 SCC OnLine Del 2018, upheld with other appeals in Union of India v. Col. NC Isaac (Retd.), 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1895.
p. 11Under these principles, a disability arising in a peace area is not, for that reason alone, presumed unrelated to service; absent a record of pre-existing disease at entry, the individual is presumed to have been in sound mental and physical health; and the employer bears the burden of proving that the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated by service.
pp. 11–12The Medical Board must give reasons for such a finding.
pp. 11–1204Reasoning
The Tribunal had applied the governing principles when deciding the respondents’ claims.
pp. 11–12The Union accepted that the cases were covered by the cited authorities, and the Court rejected the proposition that the respondents’ disabilities could be treated as unrelated to service merely because they arose in peace areas.
pp. 11–12Finding no infirmity in the Tribunal’s judgments that warranted interference, the Court dismissed the writ petitions.
pp. 11–1205Holding
The Court dismissed all the writ petitions as devoid of merit and upheld the Tribunal’s judgments.
p. 12It directed the Union to implement those judgments within four months, except the judgment challenged in W.P.(C) 5718/2026, which the Union informed the Court had already been implemented.
p. 12The petitions and pending applications were disposed of accordingly.
p. 12Original Court PDF
Union Of India And OthersvsSgt Repaka Gopal (Retd)
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