Livelaw has reported on the decision of the Kerala High Court, wherein the Court has observed that the denial of disability pension to an Armed Forces personnel cannot be on the basis of characterisation of "Diabetes" and "Primary Hypertension" as mere "lifestyle disorders".
The Kerala High Court while deciding a case filed by an Honorary Captain, who was invalided out of service after being diagnosed with "Type-II Diabetes" and "Hypertension" observed that it was the "core responsibility of the Government and Society to protect the morale of soldiers, as soldiers are the ones who risk their lives for the country. A soldier is a blank cheque written to the country for any amount up to and including his life. Article 33 of the Constitution of India allows the Government to restrict or abrogate some rights of the members of the armed forces in order to ensure proper discharge of duties and maintenance of discipline and in such a situation, the contention that the disease is a lifestyle disorder cannot be accepted as a sufficient reason to deny the claim for disability element of pension."
Accordingly, the petition by the Union was dismissed and the Armed Forces Tribunal's order to grant disability pension was upheld.
An important question also arises here, if so called "lifestyle disorders" are sufficient basis to invalid personnel out of service, is it not natural for benefits such as grant of Disability Pension to flow automatically thereupon, without burdening Armed Forces personnel with the weight of multiple rounds of litigation?
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