Patna High Court - Orders
Uday Shankar Upadhyay vs Union Of India &Amp; Ors on 21 April, 2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CWJC No.5861 of 2004
Uday Shankar Upadhyay, aged about 33 years son of late
Satyanarain Upadhyay, resident of Village Mahuat, P.S. Sonhar,
District Kaimur.
---------- Petitioner
Versus
1. Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Defence,
Government of India, New Delhi.
2. Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi.
3. Commanding Officer, 3rd Bihar Battalian Regiment, C/o 56, A.P.O.
4. Brigadier, The Bihar Regimental Centre-cum-Record, O.I.C.
Danapur Cantt., Danapur, Patna.
5. A.D.M. Commandant, Statioin Head Quarter JOB Sub-Area, Danapur
Cantt., Danapur, Patna.
6. Commanding Officer, Military Hospital, Danapur Cantt., Danapur,
Patna.
-------- Respondents
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8 21.4.2011Having heard learned counsel for the parties, this Court would find that the prayer in this writ application to quash an order dated 23.6.2003 issued by the Bihar Regimental Centre-cum-Record, Danapur Cantt. has become infructuous, inasmuch as, the petitioner does not question the decision of the authority with regard to his being found and placed in medically low category.
As a matter of fact when the petitioner was also given a show-cause notice on 29th July, 2003 pursuant to the impugned order dated 23rd June, 2003 and had not questioned the decision of the authority as with regard to his being placed in medically 2 low category, he cannot be now heard to say that Annexure-1, the decision of the authority placing him in medically low category, suffers from any error.
Mr. Sanjeet Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that in the armed forces, there is a provision for alternative employment of the persons placed in the low medical category and since that was not offered to the petitioner, the order contained in Annexure-1, declaring the petitioner to be in low medical category, is bad.
Such submission of Mr. Kumar has been noted only for its being rejected.
Subjective satisfaction of the army officials based on medical examination of the concerned army personnel and the resultant decision taken by the authorities with regard to medical unfitness of a member of force can be tested by this Court only on the touchstone of reasonableness and if there is no challenge at all by the petitioner to such a decision the same can not now be held to be bad specially when the petitioner has also 3 gone to accept the disability pension. Once the petitioner had accepted his disability and had filed an appeal for enhancement of disability pension from 20% to 50%, he cannot be heard to say that there was/is any error in the decision making process or the resultant decision of declaring the petitioner in the medically low category.
Since the question of alternative employment of the petitioner has been directly not raised in this writ application, the respondents have also not responded to this aspect and, therefore, this Court would only give liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent authority as with regard to providing alternative employment and if such a representation is filed by the petitioner, the same may receive due consideration as per Army Instruction and of- course in accordance with law.
With the aforementioned observations and liberty, this application is disposed of.
Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)