HC upholds rights of 13 ex-servicemen to rounded-off disability benefits

The court relied on two binding Supreme Court rulings, namely, Union of India v. Ram Avtar (2014) and Bijender Singh v. Union of India (2025) , which make it clear that disabilities must be rounded off as follows: to 50 per cent if assessed below 50 per cent, to 75 per cent if between 50 per cent and 75 per cent, and to 100 per cent if above 75 per cent, irrespective of the mode of discharge.

The petition filed against ex-Havildar Deepak Kumar Singh was dismissed after the High Court upheld the AFT’s order granting him 50 per cent disability pension against his assessed disability of 20 per cent.

Lt. Col. Suresh Kumar (Retd) had a 30 per cent disability, which was rounded off to 50 per cent by the Tribunal and subsequently upheld by the High Court.

In the case of ex-Naib Subedar Bogh Singh Dhillon, whose disability had been assessed at 50 per cent, the Tribunal had granted him 75 per cent disability pension, which the High Court found to be in accordance with the law.

Ex-Naib Subedar Yogander Kumar had been assessed with 40 per cent disability. The Tribunal had rounded this off to 50 per cent, a decision that the High Court found consistent with the Supreme Court rulings.

Similarly, ex-Sepoy Mandeep Singh had a disability of 20 per cent, which the Tribunal rounded off to 50 per cent. The Centre’s argument that such benefit applied only to invalided personnel was rejected.

In the case of ex-Sepoy Malkit Singh, who had a 20 per cent disability dating back to April 1984, the Tribunal had allowed rounding off to 50 per cent. Singh passed away during the proceedings, and the claim was continued by his legal heirs.

The Tribunal’s decision to grant ex-Subedar Nanu Ram Saini 50 per cent disability pension in place of his 20 per cent assessment was also maintained by the bench.

Ex-Sepoy Ramphal Singh had a 30 per cent disability that the Tribunal rounded to 50 per cent. The High Court saw no illegality in this conclusion.

Ex-Lance Naik Bhoop Singh had been assessed with a 20 per cent disability, and the Tribunal’s direction to round it off to 50 per cent was similarly upheld.

In ex-Sepoy Manohar Lal’s case, a 20 per cent assessed disability had also been rounded to 50 per cent, with the court rejecting the Union’s objection as unfounded.

Ex-Havildar Rajbir Singh had a 40 per cent disability, which was lawfully rounded off to 50 per cent, according to the Tribunal. The High Court concurred.

Ex-Sepoy Puran Mal had a split assessment: 40 per cent disability from 1998 to 2002 and 30 per cent from 2002 to 2015. The Tribunal had granted 50 per cent for both periods, which the bench upheld.

Bahadur Singh, who had a 20 per cent disability between 2008 and 2015, had also been awarded 50 per cent pension by the Tribunal. The High Court found no fault in the order.

In each case, the court rejected the Centre’s reliance on a 2001 Defence Ministry circular that limited rounding off to only those invalided out of service, calling it contrary to the legal position laid down by the apex court.

“We do not find any illegality in the impugned order whereby the benefit of rounding off, of the disability element of disability pension has been granted,” the bench observed.
All thirteen petitions stand dismissed.