New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said duty is cast on all state functionaries, including echelons of power within the armed forces, to ensure that the highest standards of safety that is physical, mental well-being and wellness are maintained while awarding over Rs 1.54 crore compensation to a veteran of Air Force due to transfusion of HIV infected blood after he fell sick during 'Operation Parakram' in 2002 in Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench comprising justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta said the people sign up to join armed forces with a sense of patriotic duty and it is a conscious decision to put their lives on the line and be prepared for the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. However, the bench said in the present case the fundamental principles of dignity, honour, and compassion were glaringly absent in the respondents' behaviour.
The bench said, “A corresponding duty is cast on all state functionaries including echelons of power within the armed forces to ensure that the highest standards of safety which is physical, and mental well-being as well as wellness is maintained." The apex court held that the Air Force and Indian Army are vicariously liable for medical negligence as it allowed the petitioner’s appeal challenging the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order, which rejected his complaint. The petitioner was diagnosed with HIV in 2014 after he fell ill.
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Medical Boards were held in 2014 and 2015 in which his disability was found to be attributable to service due to the transfusion of one unit of blood in July 2002. In 2016, the petitioner was discharged from the service and the authorities declined his request for an extension of service or grant of a disability certificate.
The top court said although it has attempted to give tangible relief, but no amount of compensation and monetary terms can undo the harm caused by such behaviour which has shaken the foundation of the petitioner’s dignity, “robbed him of honour and rendered him not only desperate but cynical”.
The apex court appreciated the efforts of senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, additional solicitor general (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee, and amicus curiae advocate Vanshaja Shukla. The apex court directed the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) to pay an honorarium of Rs 50,000 to the amicus curiae. Shukla said the petitioner deserved this victory, and as an advocate-on-record “my efforts being noticed by the court is truly special."
