Supreme Court clarifies disability pension for Air Force officers with less than 20% disability: Union of India vs. Wing Commander S.P. Rathore (2019)

Introduction

Date of the Judgment: 11 December 2019

Citation: 2019 INSC 1173

Judges: Deepak Gupta, J., Sanjiv Khanna, J.

Can an Air Force officer who retires after completing their service and has a disability less than 20% receive a disability pension? The Supreme Court of India recently addressed this crucial question in a case involving the Union of India and a Wing Commander. This judgment clarifies the rules regarding disability pensions for Air Force officers, specifically focusing on those who retire normally and have a disability assessed below the 20% threshold. The bench consisted of Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

Case Background

The case revolves around Wing Commander S.P. Rathore, an officer of the Indian Air Force, who retired upon reaching the age of superannuation. After his retirement, it was determined that he had a disability that was aggravated by his service in the Air Force. However, the assessed disability was less than 20%. The central question was whether he was entitled to a disability pension despite his disability being below the 20% threshold, as per the existing regulations.

Timeline:

Legal Framework

The case hinges on the interpretation of the Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961, specifically Regulation 37(a) and (b), which state:

“37(a) An officer who is retired from air force service on account of a disability which is attributable to or aggravated by such service and is assessed at 20 percent or over may, on retirement be awarded disability pension consisting of a service element and a disability element in accordance with the regulations in this section.”

“37(b) The question whether a disability is attributable to or aggravated by air force service shall be determined under the regulations in Appendix II.”

Additionally, the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001, specifically Paras 7.2 and 8.2, are relevant. Para 8.2 states:

“8.2 For disabilities less than 100% but not less than 20% the above rates shall be proportionately reduced. No disability element shall be payable for disabilities less than 20%. Provisions contained in Para 7.2 above shall not be applicable for computing disability element. Disability actually assessed by the duly approved Release Medical Board/Invaliding Medical Board as accepted by the Pension Sanctioning Authority, shall reckon for computing disability element.”

Arguments

The Union of India argued that as per Regulation 37(a) of the Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961, and Para 8.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001, disability pension is only admissible if the disability is assessed at 20% or more. Since Wing Commander Rathore’s disability was less than 20%, he was not eligible for any disability pension.

Wing Commander S.P. Rathore contended that the principle of rounding off, as mentioned in Para 7.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001, should be applied to his case. He relied on the Supreme Court’s order in “Union of India and Ors. Versus Ram Avtar” to support this argument. He argued that even if his disability was less than 20%, it should be rounded off to 50% for the purpose of computing disability pension.

Issues Framed by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court framed the following issue:

1. Whether an Air Force officer, who has superannuated from service and has a disability less than 20%, is entitled to disability pension.

Treatment of the Issue by the Court

Authorities

The Court considered the following:

• Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961:
  • Regulation 37(a): Specifies that an officer retired due to a disability attributable to or aggravated by service, and assessed at 20% or more, may be awarded a disability pension.
  • Regulation 37(b): States that the determination of whether a disability is attributable to or aggravated by air force service is to be done as per Appendix II.
• Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001:
  • Para 7.2: Provides for rounding off of disability percentages for armed forces personnel invalided out under specific circumstances.
  • Para 8.2: States that disability element shall not be payable for disabilities less than 20%. It also clarifies that the rounding off provisions of Para 7.2 are not applicable for computing disability element under Para 8.2.
• Union of India and Ors. Versus Ram Avtar (Civil Appeal No.418 of 2012):
  • The Supreme Court approved the judgment of the Armed Forces Tribunal, holding that the principle of rounding off as envisaged in Para 7.2 would be applicable even to those who superannuated under Para 8.2. However, the Court did not deal with the issue of entitlement to disability pension under the Regulations of Para 8.2.

Judgment

What weighed in the mind of the Court?

The Supreme Court’s decision was primarily influenced by the clear and unambiguous language of Regulation 37(a) of the Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961, and Para 8.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001. The Court emphasized that these provisions explicitly state that a disability pension is only admissible if the disability is assessed at 20% or more. The Court also noted that the principle of rounding off, as envisaged in Para 7.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular, is not applicable when the basic eligibility for disability pension is not met i.e. when the disability is less than 20%. The Court clarified that the ruling in “Union of India and Ors. Versus Ram Avtar” only dealt with the applicability of rounding off and not the basic eligibility for disability pension.

The Court stated, “As pointed out above, both Regulation 37(a) and Para 8.2 clearly provide that the disability element is not admissible if the disability is less than 20%. In that view of the matter, the question of rounding off would not apply if the disability is less than 20%. If a person is not entitled to the disability pension, there would be no question of rounding off.”

The Court further clarified, “This Court in Ram Avtar (supra), while approving the judgment of the Armed Forces Tribunal only held that the principle of rounding off as envisaged in Para 7.2 referred to herein above would be applicable even to those who superannuated under Para 8.2. The Court did not deal with the issue of entitlement to disability pension under the Regulations of Para 8.2.”

The Court concluded, “In view of the provisions referred to above, we are clearly of the view that the original petitioner/applicant before the AFT is not entitled to disability pension. Therefore, the question of applying the provisions of Para 7.2 would not arise in his case.”

Key Takeaways

• Air Force officers who retire upon reaching superannuation and have a disability assessed at less than 20% are not eligible for disability pension.
• The principle of rounding off disability percentages does not apply if the basic eligibility for disability pension is not met.
• The judgment clarifies the interpretation of Regulation 37(a) of the Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961, and Para 8.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001.

Directions

The Supreme Court set aside the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal and consequently dismissed the original application filed by Wing Commander S.P. Rathore before the AFT.

Development of Law

The ratio decidendi of this case is that an Air Force officer who has superannuated from service and has a disability less than 20% is not entitled to disability pension. This judgment reinforces the existing legal position that a minimum disability of 20% is required for eligibility for disability pension as per Regulation 37(a) of the Defence Service Regulations Pension Regulations for the Air Force, 1961, and Para 8.2 of the Ministry of Defence Circular dated 31.1.2001.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court held that an Air Force officer who retires on superannuation and has a disability less than 20% is not entitled to disability pension. The Court clarified that the rounding off principle does not apply if the basic eligibility criteria of 20% disability is not met. This judgment reinforces the existing regulations and provides clarity on the eligibility for disability pensions in the Air Force.