Soldier’s heart attack during leave linked to service stress, family entitled to special pension: HC

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that death of a soldier due to heart attack at home even during annual leave would be attributable to military service and the family of the deceased soldier would be entitled to special family pension.

The HC observed that the heart attack does not occur instantaneously but is the result of the constant stress suffered by the patient concerned."For a period of 10 years, the husband of respondent No.1 (wife of deceased soldier) was serving the Army and keeping in view the various postings and the stress which was caused, it can be easily correlated that the said stress and strain which was related to the job profile of her husband was responsible for his death," the HC has held.Division bench comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Vikas Suri passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by the central government challenging the order passed by the Chandigarh bench of Armed Forces Tribunal. In its order dated March 28, 2023, the AFT Chandigarh had held that the death of the husband of Anju Bala, who died due to heart attack on April 11, 2007, was attributable to the military service.

Counsel for the central government submitted that the husband of Anju Bala was on Annual leave from April 9, 2007 to April 23, 2007 and while on leave, on April 11, 2007, he suffered an heart attack, which heart attack cannot be attributable to the military service and therefore, the order passed by AFT should be set-aside.The Court of Inquiry, which conducted the investigation, held that the death of the soldier was not attributable to the military service, as he was on annual leave of 15 days and suffered a heart attack during the leave period.After hearing all the parties, the HC dismissed the plea filed by Centre observing that heart attack was related to the stress suffered by the husband of Anju Bala while performing the duties.The HC bench further recorded that the cause of the death and the circumstances have to be appreciated even when the death occurs during theleave period so as to arrive at a conclusion whether the same can be attributable to the military service or not."In the present case, the AFT while passing the order dated March 28, 2023 has rightly appreciated all the facts which have been brought on record to theconclusion that the death of the husband of Anju Bala on April 11, 2007 due to heart attack was within a period of two days of availing the annualleave which disease is attributable to the military service, as at the time of the recruitment in the Army when her husband was medically checked up, he was shape 1 and no such disease was diagnosed."That being so, learned counsel for the petitioners UOI has not been able to prove that the findings recorded by the Tribunal are perverse either on thebasis of the facts or the settled principle of law," observed the HC while dismissing the petition.