Entitlement Rules 2023 of Min of Def dated 21 Sep 2023. | Sanjha Morcha website basically designed to facilitate veterans to read defence related print media news , reproduced from various National/Regional /International Newspapers and Magazines and Videos related to welfare of defence personnel. click link below to open website.

Dear All
I have been asked by many disabled soldiers of my views on Entitlement Rules 2023 of Min of Def dated 21 Sep 2023.
I am not a disabled soldier but have a lot of sympathy for them as they suffered much in service. They need to be respected and compensated for losing so many benefits in service available to SHAPE-1 soldiers like I.
These disability and war injury were there since times immemorial.
I have not found any reason to issue 187 page long bumf and create panic in the disabled and war injured soldier community.
It is better if the LMC officers of AMC comment on these entitlement rules 2023 as a lot of medical jumbo mumbo is given in this document which most of us cannot understand.
My views are in 13 pages. Read them if you have patience and inclination. You need not agree with my views.
warm regards & respects,
Brig CS Vidyasagar (Retd), President TSEWA
94931 91380
brigvidya.tsewa@gmail.com

COMMENTS BY BRIG CS VIDYASAGAR :DETAILS AS UNDER

Dear Sir,

1. You need a lot of patience and resilience to go through this long message of 13 pages of mine. Just saying Entitlement Rules 2023 deprive disabled / war injured soldiers is not good enough in Courts of Law. You got to prove how these Entitlement Rules affect the disability claims of solider henceforth.

2. Disclaimer. I am not a disabled soldier and pay income tax of Rs 25,600 per month. I have no axe to grind. But I have sympathy for the disabled & war injured soldiers having seen how they suffered in military service.

3. The Entitlement Rules 2023 has come out of a belief of a former COAS and CDS that many soldiers feign disability on flimsy ground just before retirement. He felt this kind of cheating by disabled soldiers deprives the Govt of India thousands of crores which the country needs badly for its development when poor are becoming poorer. (forget rich are becoming richer when only 5% control entire wealth of this country). An unsigned letter from Army HQ during his reign was promptly sent by Min of Def to Min of Fin. This has resulted in disabled & war injured soldiers losing their income tax exemption as old letter said only invalided soldiers are eligible for income tax exemption.

4. I have no dispute if Govt of India, Ministry of Defence makes rules amending previous letters or regulations to improve the benefits on seeing the ground realities over period of time. Military service is hazardous when soldiers have to face all kinds of challenges to accomplish their task. Employment in High Altitude Areas (HAAs) and extreme HAAs over 15,000 feet, employment in jungles of North East where un-congenial conditions prevail have resulted in many healthy soldiers succumbing to many diseases like pulmonary oedema, chill blains, frost bites, snow blindness, Cerebral Malaria etc resulting in amputation or even death. I know a Maj Gen (former GOC 15 Inf Div in 1998-99) who later became Lt Gen told me that he has become totally blind just before retirement and I asked him the reason for this blindness. I saw him as perfect when he was commanding 15 Inf Div. He told me that he was posted in Sikkim as a young officer and due to snow all over his post at times he did not use sun goggles and that has caused mild blindness initially but aggravated to total blindness at the time of retirement. I know a Brigadier in Dehradun who is totally blind on his retirement due to military service only.

5. Whenever the powers – that be frame new rules for disabled soldiers and war injured soldiers, these rules should be done with empathy. A study needs to be done by the CGDA as to how much is the outgo of extra money paid to disabled /war injured soldiers and how much loss of income tax per annum to the exchequer. Forget the income lost by the Govt of Inda, Min of Finance who reduce the corporate taxes which runs into thousands of crores per annum. Is saving to the exchequer be at the cost of disabled / war injured soldiers?

6. A moot question as to where is necessity for Entitlement Rules 2023 when Defence Pension Regulations 2008 clearly mention who are the disabled soldiers and war injured soldiers. Category A to E are clearly spelt out to show which are Attributable or Aggravated by Military Service. These Entitlement Rules were framed to overcome the following:-

(a) These were framed with a purpose to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of 2013 which ruled that any injury or disease surfaces once the soldier or officers joins the Armed Forces if no such evidence of any ailment is recorded at the time of enrolment / commissioning is to be treated as Attributable or Aggravated by Military Service. Hon’ble Supreme Court does not recognize the term Not Attributable Nor Aggravated (NA-NA) if the problem arose in the service. It is plain common sense. If a person is healthy at the time of enrolment or commissioning (before SSB of officers), then any disability or disease should be attributable to military service.

(b) The DGAFMS complained to the Defence Secretary that Maj Gens and Lt Gens pressurize the doctors in service hospitals to grant them disability element to avail income tax exemption. This new rule that Colonels and above have to go out of their own area of functioning for Release Medical Boards (RMB) is the result of this complaint. We are aware a former COAS when he was to retire in March 2019 or thereabouts goes to USA in Jan 2019 and sees a demonstration of guns firing trials and comes home and complains he became deaf (being a gunner himself). He is sanctioned disability above 20% and now enjoys hefty pension and is exempt from payment of income tax. But do all disabled or war injured soldier come under category?

7. Need for New Terms. Where is the need for time tested Disability Pension and War Injury Pension to be replaced by terms Impairment Relief? Is Impairment Relief gets income tax exemption which go by their own rules of Income Tax Act 1961 amended from time to time? When no such term Impairment Relief is covered in the Income Tax Act does the IT commissioner exempt the disability pension from payment of income tax? The worthies in Min of Def should have got acceptance from Min of Fin that Disability pension and Impairment Relief are one and the same phrase and Impairment Relief if mentioned also is eligible for income tax exemption. In what way Impairment Relief is distinct from Disability Element?

8. Page 5 of 187, Para 5: Invalidment. The condition for invalidment is different for officers and JCOs /OR. Para 5 (d) says all those soldiers (including Officers) who were in SHAPE – 5 when invalided before completion of their terms of engagement are to be treated as Invalided out of Service. But para 5(b) covers only JCOs /OR who are in permanent medical category lower than are invalided due to non-availability of suitable alternative employment or even if provided alternative employment are discharged before completion of their terms of engagement are considered to be invalided. Does it mean Officers in Low Medical Category cannot be invalided?

9. Page 7 of 187, Para 7: Inability to Detect Some Latent Diseases or Injuries. This provision has been inserted to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of 2013 explained in para 6(a) above. Now the medical boards will simply say the disease or injury sustained was not recorded at the time of enrolment / commission being latent hence the injury or disease now detected in service is not Attributable or Aggravated by Military Service.

10. Page 9 of 187, Para 10(d) to (f). Personnel proceeding on leave or returning to unit on completion of leave have been treated on duty. This provision has been inserted consequent of judicial pronouncements when death or injuries sustained are upheld by courts of law as on duty and the soldiers were compensated.

11. Page 15 of 187, Para 18(b) (ix). Impairment cum Assessment Board for the rank of Colonel and above will be held in service hospitals outside their area of responsibility. This is based on the complaint of DGAFMS made to Defence Secretary that Maj Gens and Lt Gens apply pressure on service doctors to recommend disability pension to avoid payment of income tax.

12. Page 16 of 187, Para 18(c).Release Medical Board (RMB) of officers of the rank of Brigadier and above shall be held in the service hospital outside there area of responsibility to prevent them to apply pressure on the service doctors to give them disability pension.

13. If you want to understand how these Entitlement Rules 2023 deprive future Disabled & War Injured Solider to get their legitimate compensation, you need to study what has been told to the service doctors cover in pages 36 to 187 of Appendix II- Guide to Medical Officers.

Chapter I

Page 45:/187, Para 9.

14. One has to study this paragraph carefully to understand its purpose and intention of the authors of the Entitlement Rules 2023. It says if the soldiers goes before the doctor in the service hospital and the doctor who is now trained to ask him about his medical condition prior to joining the Armed Forces then make that poor soldier to sign that he did suffer some ailment before his enrolment / commissioning to deny him the benefit of disability as the ailment prior to enrolment / commissioning has led to his present condition. This has been made just to deny the disability element. Our soldiers are simple and they will do what the clever AMC officers tells him to do.

Para 10

15. Again, very ingeniously drafted for those who contract some ailment while on leave though it is not evident but may surface after he rejoins the unit. The clever AMC officer will probe by putting the soldier under stress and extract that the solider suffered disease while on leave and in no way his disability is attributed to Military Service.

16. The medical Board are now told to be 100% sure that the disability is due to military service and not due to any other cause. On what basis the doctors in the medical board would say” that the disability is not attributable to military service? Which medical text books says that the disability has not occurred in service?

Chapter II

Page 46/187, Para 2

17. Look at the intelligence of the drafters (mostly officers from DGAFMS). It says in ordinary course of life one can slip, trip, fall, hit accidentally an animate or inanimate object, sprains, muscle pulls etc should not be linked to military life. It begs a simple question : How does one become a disabled soldier? So if a solider slips in on a recce and sustain an injury the argument of the competent authority is that he could have slipped while not on military duty. So not granted disability pension or impairment relief. The burden of proof that soldier sustained injury or contracted disease which is attributable to military service is now on the poor soldier.

18. Brig PT Gangadharan of 7 GUARDS, while commanding his bde in J & K on the LOC wanted to visit one of his inf bns. The route from Bde HQ to Inf Bn is overseen by Pakis who open fire if movement is observed in day time. So, Brig PT Gangadharan had to move in the night only to go to the inf bn. Unfortunately, it drizzled at night and the narrow foot path was moist. You cannot light torch lest be seen by Pakis overlooking the Indian post. He slipped and went down few hundred metres in a gorge. He was rescued after few hours. He broke his spine but was retained in service in Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Kirkee, Pune and then retired. He was granted 100% war injury pension. Though he did well till then, he could have become a Maj Gen but for this accident his bright career ended. But our clever service doctors will now say “Oh the Brigadier could have slipped on any rainy day? So this is normal daily activity as mentioned in Entitlement Rules 2023. So no disability pension is recommended.”

19. Most of the disability cases will either be rejected by doctors of service hospitals or by the competent authority on flimsy ground forcing the disabled soldiers to run around the courts of law to get justice. In the bargain framers of Entitlement Rules 2023 make some unemployed advocates in AFT earn some money.

Page 47 & 48 /187, Chapter II, Para 7 & 8

20. It lists seven diseases which cannot be detected at the time of enrolment or commissioning. So when a disabled soldier goes to RMB, our service doctors will link one of the above seven diseases and reject his claim for disability pension. This has been cleverly put in the Entitlement Rules 2023 to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court 2013 at para 6(a). Many disabled soldiers could get relief due to the ibid judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court. Now the clever framers think they can overcome the judgment by inserting this innocuous para 7. Which medical text books state so?

21. Para 9. This paragraph beats all arguments of any advocate. A soldier or officer cadet is healthy before joining but might become disabled soon after joining. No time period is mentioned for this phrase Soon After. We need to compliment the ingenuity of authors to prove by any medical text book that a person can become disabled just after getting selected to join Armed Forces? This is to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of 2013 (para 6(a)).

Chapter III

Page 52 /187, Chapter II, Para 11

22. This has been inserted to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court (para 6(a)). It is not understood how can previous medical boards when a solider sustained injury or contracted a disease become invalid and only RMB is the sole documents to decide to award disability or war injury is not understood. The aim here appears to contradict the medical condition sustained at that time when medical board opined the cause of injury or disease which might favour the soldier to get disability pension or war injury pension. Which is more relevant? A medical board held immediately when a soldier sustains an injury or a RMB held many years later at the time of discharge or retirement?

Appendix A to Chapter III: Relevant Medical Boards for Disability Compensation

23. Disability Compensation Medical Board (DCMB). A new medical board titled Disability Compensation Medical Board (DCMB) is created. When a medical board declared a soldier as permanent low medical category, then within three months this board is to be convened to declare whether there is any scope for award of disability pension. Then what is the use of RMB done at the time of retirement? This is held in any Comd Hospital or Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt or R & R Hospital, Delhi Cantt. The disabled / war injured solider will spend most of the time going before medical boards and proving that he is a genuine disabled / war injured soldier. This Special Board is presided over by the Comdt of the Hospital who will do no other work in future except presiding over such disabled or war injured cases. In that case such disabled / war injured soldiers should be exempted from appearing before RMB at the time of retirement.

24. Release Medical Board (RMB). A soldier who happens to be in low medical category will appear before RMB before his retirement. That means when a soldier is disabled in service, he appears before the following medical boards:-

(a) Classification Medical Board (CMB). Immediately on being disabled or acquired a disease.

(b) Reclassification Medical Board. To get his medical Classification revised.

(d) Release Medical Board (RMB). In spite of the DCMB declaring that the soldier is disabled or war injured he has to undergo one more medical board before retirement. Then what is the use of DCMB or RMB. Why both are required?

(e) When an Agniveer suffers an injury or contracts disease when he has to undergo four medical boards at various locations in his four years of tenure, then what is his contribution to the defence service?

25. Page 70/187: Detailed Justification. The cursory reading of this shows that it has been inserted to overcome the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of 2013 (para 6(a))

26. Why is the disease not related to service as per job profile and place of posting.

27. My view: How can any medical officer prove that the disease contracted is not related to his job profile and place of posting? Do diseases are confined to any place of posting unless it is High Altitude Area or Siachen. The Entitlement Rules 2013 have been framed to deny a legitimate claim for disability or war injury pension.

28. If the disease is constitutional / hereditary / due to process of ageing etc why was it not detected at the time of enrolment / commission.
29. My view. The hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment said if there is no adverse remark about the medical condition at the time of enrolment / commission any injury or disease notice is attributable to military service (para 6(a)). The framers of Entitlement Rules 2023 to overcome this judgment made these questions posed to the service doctors to force them to write it is not possible to detect these at the time of enrolment / commission so no need to pay any disability or war injury element. The judgment of Hon’ble Surpeme Court is thereby overcome to deny legitimate benefit to the disabled or war injured soldiers. These service doctors are good to justify any disability is not discoverable at the time of enrolment or commissioning. The argument is the soldier carried that disability hidden at the time of enrolment or commission and therefore not attributed nor aggravated by military service.

30 The detailed list of documents to prove that it is NA-NA.

31. My view. The list of 9 documents are to be submitted by the disabled or war injured soldier to justify that his disability is attributable to military service. The service doctors are quite capable to show one of the documents which prove the case is NA -NA. The burden of proof for disability has been quietly shifted from Medical Boards to the disabled or war injured soldier.

Chapter VI: Clinical Aspects of Certain Diseases

Page 102/187, Para 8. Cardiomyopathy

32. As laymen we understand heart attack. There are four types as shown below:-

(a) Dilated Cardio Myopathy.

(b) Hypertrophic Cardio Myopathy.

(d) Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia.

33. Only Dilated Cardio Myopathy is attributed to military service. Anyone dying due to other three can get benefit of attributable only if the disease is detected de-novo due to active operations, employment in High Altitude Area (HAA) for three months or three months after de-induction from HAA / ship or one month in submarine or disability and widows of such soldiers will not be given benefit of Special Family Pension.
If a soldier dies due to the three heart attacks mentioned at 17(b) to (c) in non-operational areas or HAA or Ships / Submarine will not get benfit and his widow will not be eligible for Special Family Pension. Courts of Law have given benefit to any soldier dying due to stresses and strains cause even in peace stations or modified field areas or field areas.

34. Page 102/187, Para 9. Cancer. There are a variety of cancers. But only those cancers where an infective aetiology exposure to ionizing, radiation, chemicals, due to service conditions is forthcoming should be attributed to military service. Now this forces the burden of proof on disabled solider who contracts cancer. Service doctors will decide whether the cancer is attributable to military service or not.

Chapter VII: Assessment

35. Page 135/187, Para 11. Constant Attendant Allowance (CAA). The saving grace of this Entitlement Rule 2023 is to give a disabled soldier benefit of Constant Attendant Allowance even if the disability is not 100%.

36. Page 135/187, Para 14. Death of Invalid Soldier. Another benefit is given to invalid soldier who may die subsequently if the medical board is convinced that death occurred due to the disease or injury which forced the Invalid Medical Board to board out the soldier. The time period between invalidment and death is not mentioned. The widow of such an invalided soldier will get Special Family Pension.

37. Page 136/187, Para 17A (b). Composite Impairment. If a soldier suffers four impairments as under then his composite assessment is carried out as under:-

(a) Impairment 1: 20%.

(b) Impairment II: 30%

(d) Impairment IV: 30%.

Note : All Impairments should be above 20%.

Composite Assessment =

(a) Impairment I : 20%

(b) Impairment II: 30% = Balance of 30% = (100-20) x 0.30 = 24%.

(d) Impairment IV: Balance of 30% = (100 – 20-24-11.20) x 0.30 = 13.44% or 13.50%.
(e) Composite Impairment : 20 +24+11.2+13.50 = 68.70%. (broad banded to 75%).

38, Page 136/187, Para 17A (c). In case where a solider is given war injury element of 40% and disability element in service at 20%, the composite impairment is assessed at 50%. War injury is taken as 40% full and 20% of disability is taken as (100-50) x 0.20 = 10%. The composite impairment is taken at 50%. But it is not specified 50% of War Injury or 50% of Disability.

39. This is incorrect. The war injury element has higher compensation as under:-

(a) War Injured Retained in Service. The War Injury Element (WIE) is 60% of Last Reckonable Emoluments (LRE) for 100% injury.

(b) War Injured but Invalided: 100% of LRE for 100% injury.

40. Medical Mumbo Jumbo. LMC doctors who are not given benefit of disability are most suitable to comment on the Guide to Medical Officers (GMO).

Conclusion

41. There are no compelling reasons for Min of Def (ESW) to issue Entitlement Rules 2023 when the existing rules are not found to be discriminatory. These rules are framed by the former COAS who thought many are getting disability benefit by fraudulent means and exemption from Income tax and DGAFMS felt the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of 2013 which stated that unless something is recorded on the medical condition at the time of enrolment or commission, any disability or disease is seen in the service, it is to be treated as Attributable or Aggravated by Military Service. As per the Hon’ble Supreme Court the term NA-NA is invalid and illegal.

42. These regressive Entitlement Rules need to be challenged in court of law comparing Existing Entitlement Rules which are not discriminatory by group of disabled and war injured soldiers.

43. Since Income Tax Dept recognizes only Disabilty or War Injury, the term Impairment Relief may not qualify for income tax exemption.

44. The Commanding Officers of Major Units and Officers Commanding of Minor independent units have to understand their responsibility in signing various forms when disability to any soldier occurs. The injury report and Court of Inquiry should be immediately ordered so that the disability is attributed to military service. The subsequent medical documents go by what the injury report or court of inquiry say about the injury or disease.

warm regards,

Brig CS Vidyasagar (Retd)

94931 91380

brigvidya.tsewa@gmail.com