Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:36864-DB Chief Justice's Court Case :- WRIT - A No. - 20845 of 2024 Petitioner :- Ashwani Kumar Singh Respondent :- Union of India and 6 others Counsel for Petitioner :- Ashok Kumar Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Saumitra Singh Hon'ble Arun Bhansali,Chief Justice Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J. 1. This petition is directed against order dated 25.03.2021 passed by Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Lucknow whereby the Original Application filed by the petitioner against order dated 17.8.2017 rejecting the claim of the petitioner for disability pension, has been dismissed. 2. The Original Application was filed inter-alia with the submissions that the petitioner was enrolled in Indian Army on 11.11.2016 and was invalidated out from services on 20.06.2017 in Low Medical Category P5 (Permanent) under Rule 13(3)(iv) of Army Rules, 1954. At the time of invaliding from services, the Invaliding Medical Board (IMB) held at Military Hospital, Secunderabad on 03.06.2017 assessed his disability 'EBSTEIN'S ANOMALY WITH WPW SYNDROME' @20% for life and opined that the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated (NANA) by service. The prayer made by the petitioner for grant of disability pension was rejected by order dated 17.07.2017, the first appeal filed on 09.09.2017 was not decided and therefore, the Original Application was filed. 3. The Tribunal, after hearing the parties, came to the conclusion that the petitioner was enrolled on 11.11.2016 and he was found to be suffering from the disease in March, 2017 i.e. within three months of joining the service and as the disease was reflected in less than four months of enrollment, by no stretch of imagination, it can be concluded that the same was caused by stress and strain of military service and consequently, after referring few orders in this regard, dismissed the Original Application. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner made vehement submissions that the Tribunal was not justified in dismissing the Original Application only on account of the fact that the petitioner was invalidated out from service within four months of his enrollment with the army. 5. Submission has been made that the nature of stress and strain was such that the petitioner suffered the disease, and therefore, he was entitled to disability pension and the rejection thereof is not justified. 6. Further submission has been made that as the petitioner was enrolled as a fit person, it has to be presumed that the disability occurred on account of the army services and therefore, the petitioner is entitled for the disability pension. Reliance has been placed on Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India & others : (2013) 7 SCC 316. 7. It has further been submitted that reliance placed on judgement in Narsingh Yadav v. Union of India and others : (2019) 9 SCC 667 by the Tribunal has no application to the fact of the present case as the same pertained to a case of mental imbalance - Schizophrenia which was not noticed at the time of enrollment. 8. Counsel for the respondents supported the order impugned. Submission has been made that once Medical Board has come to the conclusion that the petitioner was suffering from a particular disease, which can neither be attributable to nor aggravated by the military service, which report, has not been challenged by the petitioner, the plea raised in this regard regarding there being a presumption in this regard cannot be accepted and therefore, the petition deserves dismissal. 9. We have considered the submissions made by counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 10. A bare perusal of the facts, which are not in dispute, indicate that the petitioner was enrolled on 11.11.2016 and he was found to be suffering from the disease first time in March, 2017 i.e. within three months of joining the service and the Invaliding Medical Board (IMB) held at Military Hospital Secunderabad on 03.06.2017 assessed his disability 'Ebstein's Anomaly with WPW Syndrome' @ 20% for life and also opined that the disability was neither attributable to nor aggravated (NANA) by service. 11. 11. The disability indicated qua the petitioner i.e. Ebstein's Anomaly with WPW Syndrome, though has not been analyzed by the Tribunal, a little research made on Internet indicates that Ebstein's anomaly, is a congenital heart defect, which is often associated with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, which can lead to supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and other arrhythmias. 12. The very fact that the condition, suffered by the petitioner is a 'congenital heart defect' i.e. the disease or physical abnormality is present from birth, the plea sought to be raised by the petitioner that a presumption arises that once the petitioner was found fit at the time of enrollment, any detection of abnormality later on would always be attributable to the stress and strain of the services, cannot be accepted. 13. It is sine qua non for grant of disability pension that the disability must arise on account of the same being attributable to or aggravated by service and not otherwise. The judgement cited by counsel for the petitioner in the case of Dharamvit Singh (Supra) would have no application to the facts of the present case. 14. In view of the above discussions, no case for interference in the order impugned is made out. The petition has no substance and the same is, therefore, dismissed. Order Date :- 12.3.2025 nd (Kshitij Shailendra, J) (Arun Bhansali, CJ) Digitally signed by :- NISITH DEY High Court of Judicature at Allahabad