In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the death of an Army officer due to a heart attack during annual leave was attributable to military service, emphasising that cardiac arrests are often the result of prolonged stress endured during service.
The Bench of Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Vikas Suri dismissed a petition filed by the Union of India (UoI), which had challenged a March 2023 order of the Chandigarh Armed Forces Tribunal’s Regional Bench. The tribunal had earlier ruled that the officer’s death was service-related.
Case Background
- The officer had served in the Army for 10 years and was on 15 days’ annual leave starting April 9, 2007.
- On April 11, 2007, two days into his leave, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
- A Court of Inquiry initially concluded that the death was not attributable to service, since it occurred during leave.
The UoI argued that since the incident happened while the officer was on leave, it could not be linked to his service duties.
Court’s Reasoning
The High Court disagreed, stressing that heart attacks result from cumulative stress and not isolated incidents.
“For 10 years, he was serving the Army… the stress and strain related to his job profile were responsible for the death,” the Bench observed.
The Court further cited the “Union of India vs Dharambir Singh” precedent, which establishes that even deaths on leave must be assessed for their nexus with military service.
Verdict
The Bench concluded that since the officer was medically fit at recruitment and no prior heart condition was diagnosed, his death was clearly attributable to service stress.
“In the absence of any perversity being pointed out… no ground is made out for interference,” the Bench ruled, dismissing the UoI’s plea.
The ruling reinforces that service-related stress remains a factor even during leave, protecting the rights of soldiers’ families in cases of cardiac or stress-induced fatalities.
