Punjab and Haryana High Court grants relief to military cadet injured during training in 1999

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed the Union government to release the ex-gratia compensation given to a military cadet who suffered a severe injury during his training at the Officer Training Academy (OTA) in 1999..Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj rejected the government's claim that the trainee officer Parveen Salaria's injuries were neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service.The Court found that Salaria had felt severe pain in his right thigh during the course of the military exercise. Running undertaken as a part of the military exercise by Salaria was not an independent run for fun, the judge said. "The perusal of the circumstances of the case, as noticed in the report on cases prepared by the respondents, clearly show that the strain/injury is reported to have been occurred as a result of severe military training, as undertaken by a pre-commissioned cadet and that even in response to the specific query posed by this court as to whether the disability is attributable to service or whether the same has been aggravated by service, the respondents have reported that the said injury is attributable to service and has been aggravated as a result thereof on account of undergoing training at OTA," it noted..The Court thus set aside the order rejecting Salaria's claim for an ex-gratia allowance and ordered that arrears be paid to him from the due date along with 6% interest per annum, within three months.Any further delay beyond this period would attract an additional liability of ₹1,00,000 for every two months, recoverable from the responsible officer, it added..Salaria was selected to join the Indian Army as a Commissioned Officer after clearing the UPSC Examination. He joined the OTA as a gentlemen cadet on May 3, 1999. During physical training, he developed Osteoarthritis of the right hip joint and Avascular Necrosis of the head of the femur. Medical authorities recorded that the disability emerged after intense training and running, resulting directly from a fall during the "race back" in a military cross-country event, conducted as part of a bona fide military training exercise. Initially placed in a low medical category, he was ultimately invalidated out of service on November 17, 1999, due to the worsening of his medical condition..Advocate Navdeep Singh, representing the petitioner, submitted that no ex-gratia allowance was sanctioned to Salaria, even though his disability was traceable to the military service.Singh further drew the Court’s attention to the scheme notified by the Government of India on April 16, 1996, which provides for the grant of ex-gratia awards in cases of death or disablement of gentlemen cadets due to causes attributable to or aggravated by military training conditions.However, the counsel representing the Union government said Salaria was already suffering from that problem prior to his joining the forces. "He was asymptomatic till 05.06.1999 and it was only during the training at OTA Chennai, that he incidentally developed pain in his right hip joint and that there was no evidence of any trauma," the Court was told..However, the Court ruled in favour of the petitioner and said the disability, even if it was old and was being managed conservatively, had certainly aggravated as a result of the rigorous military exercise/training undertaken by him."Hon’ble Supreme Court has specifically held that a member is presumed to be in sound physical and medical condition while entering military service, except as to the physical disabilities noted or recorded at the time of entrance. In the event of being discharged from service on medical grounds at any subsequent stage, it must be presumed that any such deterioration in the health which has taken place is due to such military service," it added..Further, the Court said that there was nothing on record on the basis which it could be held that the alleged injury, claimed to have been sustained by Salaria 5-6 years prior to entering into service, could not be detected at the time of his medical examination before entering into service."Significantly, if any disability is so inconsequential that it could not be noticed and the same re-surfaces as a result of the rigorous military exercise/training, the resurfacing thereof cannot be dissected, for reasons without any basis, from the military training. The resurfacing is clearly attributable to the service conditions that have aggravated the resurfacing of such disease," it said.Hence, it concluded that the disability was attributable to military training and granted relief to Salaria..Advocate Navdeep Singh and Srishti Sharma appeared for the petitioner.Advocate Somesh Gupta appeared for the respondent..[Read Judgment]