IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P. No. 1249 of 2008 Decided on : 17-03-2009 Hon. Lieutenant Tilak Raj Sharma ....Petitioner VERSUS Union of India & others ....Respondents CORAM:-HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAI LAMBA. Present:- Ms. Jyoti Sareen, Advocate for the petitioner. Ms. Renu Bal Sharma, Advocate, for the respondents. AJAI LAMBA, J This civil writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, praying for grant of disability pension while taking into account the rank of the petitioner at the time of retirement rather than the rank held by the petitioner at the time of sustaining injury. It is not in dispute that the petitioner suffered an injury on 1.5.1998, when the petitioner held the rank of M.C.P.O. Writer- I in Indian Navy. The petitioner retired w.e.f. 1.6.1999. The disability pension granted to the petitioner was in ignorance of the rank held by the petitioner at the time of retirement i.e. Honorary Lieutenant. Learned counsel for the petitioner relies on Regulation 106 of the Navy Pension Regulation, 1964, in this regard to contend that the petitioner is entitled by law to the grant of pension after considering the circumstances most favourable to the petitioner. Learned counsel for the respondents has not been able to dispute these facts. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the paper book. Regulation 106 of the Navy Pension Regulation, 1964, reads as under:- “(a) That as per Reguations 106 of Navy Pension Regulation, 1964, rank for assessment of disability pension is taken into account as held by the individual on any of the following dates whichever is most favourable:- (i) The date of invalidating from service. xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx” A perusal of Regulation 106, which is reproduced hereinabove makes it evident that rank for assessment of disability pension is to be taken into account as held by an individual on the date whichever is most favourable. The petitioner at the time of invaliding out of service in 1999 held the rank of Honorary Lieutenant and, therefore, it is most favourable to the petitioner to get the pension, considering that rank i.e. Honorary Lieutenant. The petitioner, however, has been allowed disability pension while taking into account the rank held by him at the time of sustaining injury in 1998 which, obviously, is not favourable to the petitioner. A Division Bench of this Court in C.W.P. No. 9979 of 2005 decided on 17.8.2006 titled Nb. Sub. Ravinder Kumar vs. Union of India and others has considered this issue and held that a person would be entitled to disability pension on the most favourable conditions. Regulation 180 of the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961 (Part-I), which is in similar terms as Regulation 106 of Navy Pension Regulation, 1964, has been considered to decide the issue. In view of the above, this petition is allowed. The petitioner would be allowed disability pension while taking into account his rank held by him at the time of retirement i.e. Honorary Lieutenant. The petitioner would be allowed the relief from the date of retirement. 17th March, 2009. (Ajai Lamba) Monika Judge