AFT | Decision of Army’s Medical Board cannot be overruled by a higher chain of command without physical medical examination of the patient

Armed Forces Tribunal: The Bench of S.V.S. Rathore, J. and Air Marshal BBP Sinha (Member) allowed the application filed by a member of Indian Army’s Electronics and Mechanical Engineers Corps, directing grant of disability pension to him.

Applicant herein was enrolled in the Indian Army and discharged from service in ‘low medical category’. The Release Medical Board (RMB) located at Base Hospital, Lucknow assessed his disabilities as: (i) ‘Obesity’ at nil percentage which was ‘Neither Attributable to Nor Aggravated’ (NANA) by military service; and (ii) ‘Primary Hypertension’ at 30 per cent for two years which was found to be aggravated due to stress and strain of military service. 

The applicant filed an application for a disability pension with the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Allahabad – PCDA (P) – but the same was rejected without carrying out his physical examination, by declaring his disease of hypertension as NANA. Aggrieved thereby, the instant application was preferred under Section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.

The Court relied on the judgment in Ex. Sapper Mohinder Singh v. Union of India, Order dated 14-01-1993 in Civil Appeal No. 104 of 1993, where it was held that medical board’s decision cannot be overruled by a higher chain of command without physical medical examination of the patient. In view thereof, the decision of PCDA (P), Allahabad declaring the second disability of hypertension as NANA was set aside, and it was held that the applicant was entitled to a disability pension at 30 per cent for two years.[Hav Raj Bhan Singh v. Union of India, Original Application No. 700 of 2017, Order dated 18-02-2019]