SC issues notice to IAF, army over non-payment of Rs 1.5 cr compensation

The Supreme Court emphasised the significance of upholding the dignity and well-being of armed forces personnel in its judgment

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The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday sought responses from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army on a contempt petition filed by a retired air veteran who was awarded over Rs 1.5 crore in compensation by the top court last year for contracting AIDS after a blood transfusion at a military hospital during the 2002 Operation Parakram.

A bench of justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta issued a notice to the defence forces, turning down the Air Force's request to defer a hearing on the contempt plea as a review appeal against the September 30 ruling was pending before the Supreme Court.

Additional solicitor general Vikramajeet Banerjee requested the court to hear the contempt petition after a decision on the review petition. "You get it listed and heard expeditiously in four weeks, or else we will proceed with this matter," the court said, adjourning the matter by four weeks.

Advocate Vanshaja Shukla appeared as amicus curiae and stated that the petitioner has not received any funds for medical or litigation expenses. The court noted that Shukla, who assisted the court in passing an order granting compensation, had not received the Rs 50,000 fee.

The officer, retired corporal Ashish Kumar Chauhan, joined the air force in May 1996. The unfortunate blood transfusion episode took place in July 2002 during Operation Parakram, when India deployed troops to the India-Pakistan border following an attack on Parliament. Due to a sudden illness, Chauhan was hospitalised at a military hospital in Jammu. One unit of blood was administered to him without consent.

In March 2014, he was admitted for pneumonia treatment. Interestingly, the military hospital in Ahmedabad found HIV to be negative. As the problem persisted, he was sent to the Indian Naval Hospital in Mumbai in May 2014, where tests confirmed that he was HIV positive. The medical board found he contracted an infection during the blood transfusion received in July 2002.

The apex court's decision in September addressed the petitioner's mental, bodily, emotional, and financial losses after he was pulled from service owing to his medical condition. He suffered personal stigma as well, leading up to his divorce.

"People sign up to join the armed forces with considerable enthusiasm and a sense of patriotic duty...to put their lives on the line and be prepared for the ultimate sacrifice of their lives," the court said while awarding him compensation of Rs 1.54 crore due to medical negligence of the army and air force.

A corresponding duty is cast on all state functionaries, including echelons of power within the armed forces, to ensure that the highest standard of safety, which is physical and mental well-being, is maintained, it said.

The Air Force was ordered to pay the amount within six weeks and release all arrears of disability pension to the petitioner. The court found both the Army and the Air Force "vicariously liable" and left it open to the Air Force to seek reimbursement of up to half the compensation amount from the Indian Army.

In 2016, Chauhan was discharged from service and a year later, he filed a complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, claiming Rs 95 crore from the air force. The commission dismissed his petition in August 2021 as the military hospital at Jammu where he was given blood was not an authorised blood bank. 

Even after getting discharged from the Air Force, when the petitioner sought to take up employment with a government organisation, he was rejected owing to his medical condition.