Heart ailment cannot be included under disability: Supreme Court

The judgment comes on an appeal filed by a sailor for disability compensation

February 11, 2021 04:44 am | Updated 04:44 am IST - NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said a heart ailment cannot be included as a disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

“Section 2(i) of the Act takes into account visual disability, locomotor disability, mental illness, mental retardation, hearing impairment and leprosy. A heart ailment is not covered within the definition of disability in the Act. We would hesitate to import words, which the legislature chose not to, in their definition of disability,” a three-judge Bench of Justices S.K. Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy observed.

The judgment came on an appeal filed by a sailor for disability compensation. The Bench upheld a judgment of the Patna High Court, which had concluded that the dilated cardiomyopathy condition suffered by the seaman would not facilitate any benefit to the appellant under Section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act.

“In the case in hand, no linkage between the on-ship duty and the appellant’s medical condition could be established. The dilated cardiomyopathy condition of the appellant is neither a specified disability nor is the same relatable to the broad spectrum of impairments, which hinders his full and effective participation in society,” the court held.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged. As a result, the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body.

The petitioner, Nawal Kishore Sharma, had challenged the High Court’s rejection of his claim for disability compensation under clause 21 of the National Maritime Board Agreement.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.