AI image
A bench of Justices K Natarajan and Johnson John made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by the Union of India challenging a 2023 order of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Kochi, granting the disability element of pension to retired Lt Col Sunny Thomas of Malappuram. Thomas joined the Army in 1970 and retired in 2005. The tribunal directed the issuance of a corrigendum pension payment order (PPO) granting the disability element at 30%, rounded off to 50%, from the date of retirement, along with three years’ arrears. It also directed payment within four months, with 9% interest per annum in case of delay. The bench also noted that the petition was filed only on Jan 14, 2024, beyond the 90-day period prescribed for a statutory appeal under Section 30 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, and dismissed the petition.
The release medical board assessed him as suffering from primary hypertension, with 30% disability for life, and opined that the condition was aggravated by military service due to stress and strain. Kochi : The high court has held that when no disease or disability is recorded at the time of enrolment in the armed forces, a disability later assessed during service is presumed to be attributable to or aggravated by military service unless the employer, the Army, proves otherwise. However, the adjudicating and appellate authorities rejected his claim, holding that the condition was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service. The court noted that no disease had been recorded at the time of Thomas’s enrolment. Relying on Supreme Court decisions, the bench held that the burden was on the employer to establish that the disability was not attributable to or aggravated by military service.