$~12 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010244722026 + W.P.(C) 7592/2026 & CM APPL. 36724/2026, CM APPL. 36725/2026 UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Petitioner Through: Ms. Vidhi Gupta, SPC with Mr. Rahul Mourya GP and Mr. Rishab Jain and Mr Mudit Gupta, Advocates for R/UOI versus (680281) EX WO ARAKHITA MALLICK .....Respondent Through: Appearance not given CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NITIN WASUDEO SAMBRE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT SHARMA O R D E R % 11.08.2026 1. The respondent invoked the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking quashing of the communication dated 4th March, 2020 and order dated 31st May, 2021, consequentially, seeking disability pension to be rounded off to 75% from the date of discharge from his services. 2. It was the case of the respondent before the Tribunal that he had joined the services of Indian Air Force on 18th May, 1982, and retired on 31st May, 2020, after rendering about 38 years and 7 days of qualifying service. Prior to his retirement, the Release Medical Board assessed him on 22nd June, 2019 and he was found suffering from Coronary Artery Disease, on This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/08/2026 at 13:07:46 account of which his medical category was permanently downgraded to A4G4 (P). However, his disability was assessed as Not Attributable to Nor Aggravated by Military Service (NANA). Consequently, he was released from service on 31st May, 2020. 3. Thereafter, the respondent submitted a claim before the competent authority, which came to be rejected on 04th March, 2020. Aggrieved thereby, he preferred a statutory appeal; which was also dismissed by the appellate authority vide order dated 31st May, 2021. 4. Aggrieved by the aforesaid orders passed by the petitioners, the respondent approached the Armed Forces Tribunal by filing an Original Application seeking disability pension. The Tribunal, by the impugned judgment dated 9th December, 2024, allowed the Original Application by observing that it cannot be overlooked that the applicant after 38 years of service in the Indian Air Force and in his 15th posting had undergone stress and strain. The learned Tribunal granted disability pension by assessing the disability element at 60% for life, with the benefit of rounding off it to 75% based on the judgment of the Apex Court in ‘Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India’, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 316. 5. In the present petition, learned counsel for the petitioner has made two-fold submissions: a. That the Tribunal ought not to have rounded off the disability element from 60% to 75% after the certification by the Release Medical Board; b. That the decision in Dharamvir Singh (supra) relied upon by the learned Tribunal is pending consideration before the Apex Court. 6. When confronted, it was brought to our notice by the learned counsel This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/08/2026 at 13:07:46 for the respondent that the Apex Court has not stayed the view expressed in Dharamvir Singh (supra). 7. Relevantly, by the petitioners’ Release Medical Board, the respondent was diagnosed with the following ailments of ID (i) "Coronary Artery Disease- A WMI, Left Main with TVD post CABG, Moderate LV function and certified his disability at 60%. It is not in dispute that at the time of joining of services of the petitioners, respondent did not suffer any ailment/disability. He discharged 38 years of continuous service and he was diagnosed with aforenoted ailments while he was performing his duties. Consequent upon respondent’s disability was permanently downgraded to A4G4 (P) by the Release Medical Board, he was discharged from his services on 31st May, 2020. 8. That being so, the Tribunal was justified in relying upon Apex Court’s decision in Dharamvir Singh (supra), as the respondent suffered the disability during the course of employment with the petitioner and was also justified in granting the disability pension. 9. Accordingly, the present petition is dismissed. 10. Pending applications stand disposed of. NITIN WASUDEO SAMBRE, J AMIT SHARMA, J AUGUST 11, 2026/pr/ok This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/08/2026 at 13:07:46