UNION OF INDIA & ORS. vs WO RODRIGUES RUDOLPH FRANCIS

Judgment text excerpt

$~101 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of Decision : 13.01.2026 + W.P.(C) 415/2026 & CM APPL. 1959/2026 UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Jagdish Chandra Solanki, CGSC, Mr. Siddharth Bajaj and Mrs. Maanya Saxena, Adv. Sgt. Mritunjay and Sgt. Padam Charan, DAV Legal Cell, Air Force. versus 626111-K WO RODRIGUES RUDOLPH FRANCIS .....Respondent Through: None. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA V. KAMESWAR RAO, J. (ORAL) 1. This petition has been filed challenging the order dated 19.05.2023 passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (‘Tribunal’, for short) in Original Application No. 2083/2021 (‘OA’, for short), whereby the Tribunal has allowed the OA filed by the respondent with the finding in paragraph no.18, as under:- “18. Thus, the OA 2083/2021 is allowed and application is held entitled to the grant of the disability element of pension Diabetes Mellitus @ 30%, assessed compositely@ 50% for life, which in terms of the verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal 418/2012 dated 10.12.2014 titled as UOI & Ors. Vs. Ramavtar, the said disability is rounded off the 50% from the date of discharge.” Signature Not Verified Signed By:PRADEEP W.P.(C) 415/2026 Page 1 of 10 SHARMA Signing Date:16.01.2026 17:38:20 2. The only submission made by learned counsel for the petitioners is that the Tribunal has overlooked relevant Entitlement Rules, 2008 as it failed to reconcile its decision with amended Entitlement Rules, 2008, wherein the general presumption to be drawn in order to ascertain the principle of ‘attributable to or aggravated’ by military service has been done away with. He also states that the rounding-off the disability of 30%, assessed composite