Soldier's bathroom fall injury can't be cause for disability pension: AFT

CHANDIGARH: Injuries suffered due to slipping in the bathroom of army barracks do not qualify a soldier for disability pension, Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ruled, underscoring that wounds or death must be directly linked to armed forces services rather than being accidental occurrences common to people.
An AFT division bench, comprising Justice (retd) Anil Kumar and Maj Gen (retd) Sanjay Singh, dismissed a plea from Lance Naik (Gunner) Vipin Chander Singh Rawat, a retired soldier from Dehradun, who had sought disability pension, citing injuries suffered inside military accommodation.
However, the tribunal cited a Supreme Court verdict from 2010, saying: "The disability should not be the result of an accident which could be attributed to risk common to human existence in modern conditions in India, unless such risk is enhanced in kind or degree by nature, conditions, obligations, or incidents of military service."
Rawat, who joined the Army in 2004, suffered a bone fracture after slipping on the wet floor of a bathroom in his barracks on Aug 15, 2017, while serving with 306 Field Regiment. Despite treatment at 164 Military Hospital in Bengal's Binnaguri, and subsequent discharge, he was downgraded to a low medical category. He was discharged from military service in Aug 2020 due to his medical status.
Prior to his discharge, Release Medical Board (RMB) rejected the soldier's claim for disability pension, citing that the injury occurred outside of bona fide military duty. Rawat argued that the injury should be considered attributable to military service since it occurred within the unit lines. After hearing all parties, AFT dismissed the petition, noting a lack of causal connection between the accident and military duty.