AFT upholds Agniveer's dismissal for absence despite hospitalisation
Chandigarh: The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has upheld the decision of the Army to discharge an Agniveer from service due to cumulative absence from training for more than 30 days, ruling that time spent in a military hospital does not constitute being on duty.
The soldier was admitted to a military hospital and rejoined training more than 30 days after treatment.
A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kumar, judicial member, and Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, administrative member, AFT, Lucknow bench, passed the orders while dismissing an application filed by Agniveer Ankur Rana.
Rana, who joined the Army on Dec 25, 2022, began his basic training at the Artillery Centre in Hyderabad on Jan 1, 2023.
He reported sick at the centre's medical investigation room on Jan 27, 2023. Admitted to different hospitals, he was discharged from the Army Institute of Cardio Thoracic Sciences, Pune, on April 22, 2023. He rejoined the Artillery Centre, Hyderabad, the next day. His total absence period from training was 68 days.
The Army authorities discharged him from service citing the ARTRAC (Army Training Command) policy letter dated Nov 17, 2022.
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It states, "If an Agniveer misses more than 30 cumulative days of training for any reason, he is liable to be released from service". Aggrieved by the decision, Rana approached the AFT.
The counsel for Rana called his discharge illegal, arbitrary and against the fundamental right guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution. The counsel argued that no invaliding medical board was conducted, and without its recommendations, Rana could not be discharged from service.
Besides, absence on account of admission to a military hospital for treatment can be treated as on duty, and as such, the applicant could have been relegated to another batch for undergoing/completion of training, the counsel said.
After hearing all the parties and examining the policy, the tribunal dismissed the plea, observing that there is no illegality or arbitrariness in discharging the applicant from service on the ground of cumulative absence from training for more than 30 days as per the Agnipath scheme.
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AFT upholds Agniveer's dismissal for absence despite hospitalisation
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