Army Rules, 1954
Rule 13(3) Item III(iii)—Discharge from service—Appeal—Case of wrong diagnosis of AIDS and false alarm with imperilling consequences for the appellant—Appellant had submitted between the period of 2007 and 2012, as many as four diagnostic reports, showing that his CD4 cell count was above 300 cells/mm3, as opposed to the respondents’ 2003 Guidelines defining an AIDS illness to be one where the CD4 cell count is below 200 cells/mm3—Contention of respondent that doctors in 2001 have used their best professional judgment to opine that the appellant was HIV+ve—Rejected—In the absence of any medical literature to show that test results as per then prevailing medical standards justify the diagnosis that appellant was suffering from AIDS defining illness—By misdiagnosing appellant with AIDS, the respondents indubitably subjected the appellant to further misery in not only combating social stigma against a disease which appellant never suffered from but also from dreadful thought of an imminent death resulting from an incurable disease—Amount of rupees fifty lakhs awarded towards compensation on account of wrongful termination of service, leave encashment dues, non-reimbursement of medical expenses and the social stigma faces, to be paid by respondents to the appellant—Appeal allowed.
[Paras 7 to 10 & 26]