New Delhi, February 26: The Delhi High Court ruled on Thursday that armed forces personnel cannot be denied disability pension simply because a disease is categorized as a "lifestyle disorder" or if it developed while serving at a peace station.

The Court emphasized that military service, even in non-operational areas, is inherently stressful and can lead to serious health conditions. A Division Bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora overturned the Armed Forces Tribunal’s (AFT) decision, which had rejected the disability pension claim of a retired Indian Air Force officer suffering from primary hypertension and coronary artery disease.

The Court clarified that it does not matter whether the illness occurred in a field area or during a peace posting; the key factor is whether the disease is linked to the service conditions. It pointed out that military life, with its strict discipline, long hours, frequent transfers, family separations, and constant deployment readiness, can contribute to both physical and mental stress, adversely affecting health.

The Bench found that the Release Medical Board (RMB) had not provided valid reasons for declaring the officer's disabilities as unrelated to or aggravated by his military service. Labeling the illness as a lifestyle disorder without specifying contributing lifestyle factors was deemed legally unsustainable.

The Court rejected the AFT's reliance on obesity, smoking, or alcohol consumption as factors, noting that these were not mentioned in the Medical Board's findings. It further stated that being overweight alone could not be used to prove that hypertension or heart disease was self-inflicted.

The AFT was also criticized for introducing weight and lifestyle factors unsupported by medical evidence, while the Medical Board’s connection of heart disease to duties performed in the last 14 days was deemed illogical and insufficient.