Armed Force Tribunal (AFT): The Bench of S.V.S. Rathore, Member (J) and Air Marshall BBP Sinha, Member (A) partially allowed a petition seeking ‘rounding-off’ of the disability pension from 20% to 50% with effect from 01-06-2000 to 31-12-2015.
In the pertinent case, the applicant was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps (AMC) in medical category SHAPE-I on 06-06-1976 and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The applicant was superannuated on 31-05-2000 in the low medical category. The applicant is entitled to disability element and is in receipt of the benefit of rounding off and related arrears of his disability pension at 50% w.e.f. 01-01-2016 till date. The primary claim of the applicant is that he should also be given the benefits of rounding off and the related arrears w.e.f. 01-06-2000, i.e. w.e.f. the date of his discharge till 31-12-2015. The respondents contended that for cases of superannuation or normal retirement, the applicant has been extended the same benefit w.e.f. 01-01-2016.
The Tribunal while placing reliance on Shiv Dass v. Union of India, (2007) 9 SCC 274 held that the benefit of rounding off of disability pension should be granted to the applicant three years prior to filing of the present O.A. The O.A. was filed on 25-04-2018. Since the applicant has already received the benefit of rounding off of disability element for the period 01-01-2016 till date, he is entitled to receive the arrears for rounding off of disability element for the period from 25-04-2015 to 31-12-2015. Thus, the Tribunal partially allowed the petition.[Rameshwar Dayal v. Union of India, 2019 SCC OnLine AFT 927, Order dated 28-02-2019]
