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Sukhvinder Singh v. Union of India

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 5605 of 2010)Decided 25 Jun 2014
Civil Appeal No. 5605 of 2010
Justice Vikramajit Sen · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

An Army recruit developed hearing impairment after an assault during training and was medically discharged. Authorities assessed disability at only 6-10%, described it as unrelated to service and refused disability pension. His recruitment medical examination had recorded no hearing problem, and no effort was made to retain him in a lower medical category.

Decision Breakdown

The Court allowed the appeal and awarded disability pension, with arrears to be paid within three months. It applied the presumption of sound health on recruitment and found the later impairment attributable to or aggravated by military service. It rejected the contradictory treatment of the disability as serious enough to end employment but too slight to justify pension. Under the rules it examined, medical invaliding attracted a 50% disability-pension assessment. The decision addressed the recruit's medical discharge and pension entitlement rather than making every later illness automatically pensionable.

Lesson Learnt

A military recruit's clear entry medical record can be important evidence when a later disability leads to discharge. Pension authorities must apply the service rules and presumptions fairly instead of denying both continued employment and compensation without justification.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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