Union of India & Ors. Vs V.R. Nanukuttan Nair (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court dismissed appeals filed by the Union of India against orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Kochi, which held that the applicant was entitled to the service element of disability pension from the date of discharge.
The applicant was discharged on 30 June 1978 after completing 10 years and 169 days of service and had remained in a low medical category since 1970. He was granted disability pension at 50% on account of Viral Myocarditis after discharge but was denied the service element. The appellants contended that he was released upon expiry of his engagement, had not completed the 15 years of qualifying service prescribed under Regulation 78 of the Navy (Pension) Regulations, 1964, and had not been invalided out of service due to disability.
The Supreme Court examined Regulations 78, 101, 101A, 101B, 105B and 107, along with Appendix V. It held that disability pension comprises disability and service elements, with service pension and service element being synonymous. The Court rejected the argument that Regulation 105B makes entitlement to the service element conditional upon completion of 15 years of qualifying service.
Under Regulation 105B, a sailor discharged after completing his period of engagement while suffering from a disability attributable to or aggravated by naval service may receive, in addition to the service pension admissible, a disability element. The Court held that Regulation 105B does not use the expression “on completion of qualifying service” and that Regulation 78 could not be read into Regulation 105B by adding words not contained in the provision.
