In a ruling that puts the weight of proof firmly on the shoulders of the Army, the Supreme Court has declared that a soldier discharged due to disability must be presumed to have suffered it because of military service — and is, therefore, entitled to a disability pension.
The case revolved around a former army personnel who, after being invalided out in 1989 — 36 years ago — due to a medical condition, was denied disability benefits on the ground that his disability was assessed below 20%. The Court didn’t mince words: it made clear that the Army, not the soldier, must prove otherwise.
“A soldier cannot be asked to prove that his condition arose during service,” the bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stated. “If a person was fit upon entry — passing all tests — and later falls ill or disabled, it must be presumed service was the cause unless the Army has strong reasons to say otherwise.”
The appellant, who enlisted in 1985, served in the grueling conditions of the Siachen Glacier before being diagnosed with “generalized tonic clonic seizure.” Despite medical assessments labeling his disability at under 20%, he maintained the harsh environment led to his illness.
Under Army Pension Regulations, a disability pension requires a service-connected disability assessed at 20% or more. But, the Court highlighted, military rules — including the Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pensionary Awards, 1982 — provide a strong presumption in favor of the soldier if no prior health issues were recorded at enlistment.
In its decision, the Court leaned heavily on prior landmark cases, including Union of India vs Rajbir Singh and Dharamvir Singh vs Union of India, which stressed that the morale of the forces depends on fair compensation for injuries sustained in service. Soldiers, the Court reiterated, are presumed healthy at enlistment; deterioration thereafter must be tied to service unless clearly disproved.
Another important note: even if the disability is initially recorded below 20%, invaliding a soldier for a condition means, logically, the disability must be considered significant — triggering entitlement to at least 50% disability pension.
Slamming the Armed Forces Tribunal’s refusal of the claim, the Supreme Court ordered that the former soldier be paid a disability pension at 50% from January 1, 1996, with 6% annual interest until the payment is made. The Army now has three months to comply.
This ruling fortifies an important principle: soldiers who serve and suffer deserve the benefit of doubt — and the dignity of support.