LPA No. 1269 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. LPA No.1269 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision 20 .1.2011 Union of India and others ... Appellants Versus IC 24590-H Brigadier S.S.Jaswal ... Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.P.S.MANN Present: Ms.Geeta Singhwal ,Advocate for the appellants Mr. Rajiv Anand, Advocate for the respondent 1.To be referred to the Reporter or not ? 2.Whether the judgement should be reported in the Digest ? M.M.KUMAR, J. Challenge in the instant appeal filed by the Union of India under Clause X of the Letters Patent is to the judgement dated 29.10.2009 rendered by the learned Single Judge of this Court. The learned Single Judge has placed heavy reliance on an earlier Division Bench judgement of this Court rendered in CWP No. 67 of 2007 decided on 12.2.2008 (Paramjit Singh v. UOI). The Division Bench has held that Ex-Armymen could not have been denied the disability pension and the consequential benefit covered under the Army Group Insurance Fund on the ground that he was discharged from service on completion of term of engagement and was not invalidated out from service although he had suffered battle injuries resulting in more than 20% of disability. The Division Bench has considered Regulation 179 of the Army Pension Regulations, 1961 alongwith the Note underneath the Regulation. The aforesaid Regulation reads thus: LPA No. 1269 of 2010 2 “179. An individual retired/ discharged on completion of tenure or on completion of service limits or on completion of terms of engagement or on attaining the age of 50 years (irrespective of their period of engagement), if found suffering from a disability attributable to or aggravated by military service and recorded by Service Medical Authorities, shall be deemed to have been invalidated out of service and shall be granted disability pension from the date of retirement, if the accepted degree of disability is 20 per cent or more, and service element if the degree of disability is less than 20 per cent. The service pension/ service gratuity, if already sanctioned and paid, shall be adjusted against the disability pension/ service element, as the case may be. 2. The disability element referred to in clause (1) above shall be assessed on the accepted degree of disablement at the time of retirement/ discharge on the basis of the rank held on the date on which the wound/ injury was sustained or in the case of disease on the date of first removal from duty on account of that disease. Note: In the case of an individual discharged on fulfilling the terms of his retirement, his unwillingness to continue in service beyond the period of his engagement should not effect his entitlement to the disability element under the provision of above regulation.” According to the Division Bench armymen who has been discharged from service on completion of his term of employment would be deemed to be invalidated out of service because the disability element is required to be assessed in respect of the degree of disablement at the time of discharge on the post or the rank on the date when the injury was sustained or in case of disease on the date of first removal from duty on account of that disease. LPA No. 1269 of 2010 3 The Note further clarifies that mere discharge on fulfilling the date of retirement is not to effect his entitlement to the disability element of pension. The view of the Division Bench has been quoted by the learned Single Judge while interpreting the aforesaid Regulation reads thus: “A perusal of the above provisions of Regulation 179 of Pension Regulations leaves no room for doubt that the petitioner was invalidated out of service. The petitioner sustained injury/ disability during service, which was attributable to and aggravated by military service and recorded by Service Medical Authorities. The note below Regulation 179 further makes it clear in the case of an individual discharged on fulfilling the terms of his retirement, his unwillingness to continue in service beyond the period of his engagement, as was given by the petitioner in the present case, should not effect his title to the disability element under Regulation 179 of the Pension Regulations. In this view of the matter, we have no hesitation in holding that the petitioner will be deemed to have been invalidated out of service and is entitled to disability pension as is admissible to defence personnel who are invalidated out of service.” On the basis of the aforesaid interpretation, the Division Bench in Paramjit Singh's case (supra) has allowed the claim made by that petitioner and held him entitled to 50% disability pension and disability benefit under the Army Group Insurance Fund for his disability. Moreover, the matter is no longer res-integra as recently a Division Bench of this Court of which one of us (M.M.Kumar, J.) is a member, in a similar case (Union of India and others v. M.Brigadiar M.S.Kalra (Retd.) LPA No. 829 of 2010 decided on 3.8.2010 has upheld the view of the LPA No. 1269 of 2010 4 learned Single Judge. The learned counsel for the appellant could not successfully dispute the above position of law. As a sequel to the above discussion the appeal fails and the same is dismissed. (M.M.Kumar) Judge (T.P.S.Mann ) 20 .1.2011 Judge okg