CHANDIGARH: The Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) dismissed a serving colonel’s petition for reimbursement of Apollo Hospital’s bills for treatment of his wife on the grounds that faculties were available in the Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi Cantonment, for her treatment.
The judgment clarified that “facilities which are not available, or in case it is certified that treatment cannot be undertaken, then alone treatment can be taken from specialized institutions”.
Col R.P.S Brar had moved the AFT for reimbursement of Rs 11, 41,260 spent by him in getting his wife operated upon at Apollo Hospital. She was suffering from a brain tumour.
He had demanded an additional Rs 50,000 under a Cancer Medical Expenses Policy.
Initially, Colonel Brar had taken his wife to Army Hospital (R&R), but expressed his desire to have her treated at Apollo Hospital.
After the treatment, he approached the Delhi High Court for reimbursement. In the court, the government filed the reply that regular neuro-surgeries were being conducted at Army Hospital, where operating neuro-microscope, biopolar cautery, suction apparatus and micro neuro-instruments were available.
However, they admitted facilities like DSA lab, CT scan, Doppler and X-Knife were not available, but were outsourced from civil hospitals.
Dismissing the petition, the AFT Bench comprising Lt Gen Z.D. Shah (retd) and Justice A.K. Mathur, however, observed: “The government can consider the matter sympathetically for an Army personnel of the rank of colonel who had incurred the expenses for the treatment of his wife from his limited resources.”
SOURCE-HT
