High Blood Pressure Not a Reason to Deny Disability Pension, Delhi HC Observes in Air Force Officer’s Petition

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that high blood pressure cannot be considered a sufficient reason to deny disability pension to a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer by merely categorizing it as a lifestyle-related health issue. A bench comprising Justice V. Kameshwar Rao and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora emphasized that each individual’s lifestyle is different and it is the responsibility of the medical board to conduct a proper examination and provide a reasoned conclusion.

Denial of Disability Pension Not Justified
The bench dismissed the Centre’s petition challenging an Armed Forces Tribunal order, which had held that the IAF officer was entitled to a disability pension for early-onset high blood pressure. In its judgment on 19 January, the court stated, “It is important to note that every individual’s lifestyle varies. Simply stating that a disease is lifestyle-related cannot justify denial of disability pension unless the medical board has conducted a proper assessment of the individual and recorded relevant findings.”

The court further observed that, based on the facts of the case, the tribunal’s conclusion could not be faulted, and therefore, the petition had no merit.

Centre Had Opposed the Pension
The officer had joined the Air Force in October 1981 and retired in March 2019 after completing 37 years, five months, and four days of service. The Centre had opposed granting a disability pension for high blood pressure, arguing that the condition developed while the officer was posted in a peaceful area and was neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service. The Centre cited the medical board’s assessment, which described the hypertension as a “lifestyle-related/unknown cause disorder.”