Summary
A washerman discharged after placement in a low medical category challenged the absence of an Invalidating Medical Board recommendation. The Court held that the substance of his discharge was medical unfitness, governed by the specific medical-discharge provision rather than the residual category. The discharge was unsustainable. He was deemed retained until completion of ten years, with pension relief but no salary arrears for the intervening period.
Issues
- Whether the discharge was governed by the medical-unfitness provision or the residual category.
- What consequential service and pension relief followed from omission of the Invalidating Medical Board procedure.
Provisions considered
- Rule 13(3), Item III(iii) and III(v), Army Rules, 1954The specific medical-unfitness procedure governed the discharge; the residual clause could not replace its requirement of an Invalidating Medical Board recommendation. (¶¶ 5, 8, 10, 11, 12)
Held
- The object, language and purport of the discharge order, rather than the parties’ description or a statutory recital, determine the applicable category. The appellant was discharged for medical unfitness, so the residual provision was inapplicable. (¶¶ 8, 9, 10)
- Discharge for medical unfitness without referral to the Invalidating Medical Board contravened the prescribed procedure and could not stand. (¶¶ 10, 11, 12)
- Under the Army Order as applied to this appellant, he was deemed retained to complete ten years, ending on 22 October 1997. Consequential pension was payable, but intervening salary arrears were refused, including on the no-work-no-pay ground. (¶¶ 6, 13, 14)
Result
The appeals were allowed. The appellant was deemed discharged on 22 October 1997 and granted pension relief, with arrears restricted to three years before filing the 2007 writ petition. Those arrears were to be paid within six months of receipt of the order; salary arrears were denied.