CWP No.6574 of 2007 1 IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. CWP No.6574 of 2007 Date of decision: 20.10.2008 Jaswant Singh ..Petitioners Versus Union of India and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJAN GUPTA Present: Mr. K.S. Dhillon, Advocate, for the petitioner. Ms. Renu Bala Sharma, Central Govt. Standing Counsel, for the respondents. Ashutosh Mohunta, J. (oral) The petitioner was enrolled as a sepoy in the Army on 23.11.1965. He was discharged from service on 29.11.1973 on being found medically unfit for further service on account of 'Chronic Urticuaria'. He requested the Army authority to grant him disability pension on account of his discharge from the Army. His request was rejected vide order dated 26.3.1974 on the ground that the disability is not attributable to military service. The rejection of his claim for disability pension has now been impugned in this writ petition. Reply has been filed on behalf of the respondents wherein it has been averred that the petitioner has approached this Court after a period of more than 31 years. It has also been averred that the petitioner CWP No.6574 of 2007 2 was asked to file an appeal against the rejection order (Annexure P-2) within six months, but he never preferred any appeal. After going through the contents of the writ petition and hearing learned counsel for the parties, we are of the opinion that the writ petition has been filed after an inordinate delay of more than 31 years. The case of the petitioner for grant of disability pension was rejected vide order dated 26.3.1974 (Annexure P-4) wherein the petitioner was also advised to file an appeal. However, no such appeal was ever filed. The petitioner having been informed of his right to prefer an appeal has slept over the matter for more than three decades. A perusal of the impugned order shows that this case was recommended for the grant of invalid gratuity. In view of the aforementioned facts, we find no ground to grant disability pension to the petitioner. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. (ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA) JUDGE (RAJAN GUPTA) JUDGE October 20, 2008 'rajpal'