CHANDIGARH, Jan 12: The Armed Forces Tribunal has ruled that a brain haemorrhage suffered while on duty is attributable to military service, noting that factors like high-altitude postings must be considered alongside personal health habits. The bench set aside previous decisions that blamed alcohol consumption for the death of Corporal Jaswindra Singh, awarding a special family pension to his widow.
The airman had been ordered to travel from Purnia to Kurseong for duty despite his requests for a medical exemption. Shortly after arriving at the new station, his health deteriorated, and he passed away from an intra-cranial haemorrhage. While the Air Force authorities argued that the airman had been a regular consumer of alcohol for several years, the Tribunal found this insufficient to deny benefits to his family.
“The death of the petitioner’s husband was not definitely due to regular alcohol for the last several years,” the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Gupta and Maj Gen Sanjay Singh stated. The judges noted that the transition to a higher altitude and the physical strain of travel were vital aspects that the competent authority failed to consider when rejecting the pension claim.
The ruling clarified that because the airman died while performing bona fide official duties, the denial of the special family pension was faulty. Although the station in Kurseong does not technically meet the extreme height criteria of nine thousand feet above sea level, the bench observed it was significantly higher than his original base, which logically contributed to his worsening medical condition.
