Anomalies in pension of majors removed - Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT)

Anomalies in pension of majors removed
Those who retired before 2006 to benefit
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14
Holding that the pension shall not be less than 50 per cent of the minimum pay within the pay-band, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) today allowed a petition filed by majors and equivalents that would now entitle them to enhanced pension.

With the removal of existing anomalies that had resulted in majors, who retired prior to 2006, getting pension lower than even junior commissioned officers, they would now be paid an additional basic pension of about Rs 5,000 per month, besides consequential benefits. The order affects a substantial number of officers of the three services who had retired in the rank of major prior to 2006.

After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC), the pension of majors was fixed at Rs 14,100 per month. This was less than what JCOs, four ranks below their grade, have been getting (Rs 16,145).

The anomaly in pension fixation arose because the minimum of the entire pay-band (PB-3) was taken into account while fixing the pension instead of considering the minimum of the pay-band applicable to majors. PB-3 (Rs 15,600-39,100) includes officers of the ranks of lieutenant to major and equivalents in other services. The minimum scale of major post-SPC is Rs 23,810.

The petitioners had contended that the existing basic pay, inclusive of grade pay and military service pay, worked out to be Rs 36,410, hence their pension at the stipulated 50 per cent of basic worked out to be Rs 18,205 per month, to which they were entitled.

In December, 2004, all majors with 13-year experience and having requisite qualifications were promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel (time scale) and the policy has continued since then. Following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, all 35 categories of services were merged into four pay bands in which lieutenant colonels were initially placed in pay band-3, but later moved to pay band-4.

The pension of lieutenant colonel is fixed at Rs 25,700 whereas that of majors who retired before 2006 is Rs 14,100, creating a huge difference of Rs 11,600, the petitioners claimed. Prior to the Sixth Pay Commission, the difference was just Rs 950.

In fact, the Department of Pensions (DoP) had raised the issue of incorrect interpretation of pension fixation rules of pre-2006 majors with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) and that it needed to be corrected. Despite the fact that the ministers of finance as well as personnel were in favour of the correction, the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Finance put a spanner in the work. The case was taken up time and again by the DoP, but was always rejected by the DoE.

Source: Tribuneindia

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Gadkari to PM : Separate Pay Commission for defence forces -

Gadkari to PM : set up separate pay commission for armed

Accusing the government of failing to redress the grievances of ex-servicemen, BJP president Nitin Gadkari today asked the Prime Minister to set up a separate Pay Commission for defence forces.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gadkari said "a separate pay commission for defence personnel will solve many anomalies, which successive ten yearly pay commissions have handed down to the defence forces personnel."

He said the "discontentment" should be removed before it "creeps into the serving soldiers and lowers their morale too".

Demanding early implementation of one rank one pay (OROP), he said despite various statements both inside and outside Parliament by the government, the disparities in pension of ex-servicemen due to their date and year of retirement exist even today.

He said the Sixth Pay Commission has done little to solve the problem.

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Hike in pension to benefit 12 lakh jawans: PM

Hike in pension to benefit 12 lakh jawans: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that the government's decision to increase the pension of retired jawans and Junior Commission Officers (JCOs) will benefit 12 lakh ex-servicemen and their families.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that the government's decision to increase the pension of retired jawans and Junior Commission Officers (JCOs) will benefit 12 lakh ex-servicemen and their families.

"We have accepted the recommendations of the committee constituted to examine the issue of pension of ex-servicemen. This will lead to increased pension for about 12 lakh retired jawans and JCOs," Singh said in his address after unfurling the national flag at the ramparts of Red Fort here on the occasion of 63rd Independence Day.

"We are proud of our brave soldiers. It is our duty to ensure the ex-servicemen are able to lead a life of comfort, " he added.

Meeting a long-pending demand, the government had last month announced in the General Budget that it accepted the recommendations of Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar to substantially increase the pension of retired Army men.

The revised pension was implemented beginning July this year and it was an attempt to bring it as nearer to the 'One Rank-One Pension' demand of armed forces as possible.

The decision to increase the pension for defence personnel would cost the exchequer over Rs 2,100 crore annually.

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President Inaugurates Armed Forces Tribunal

The President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) here today. Calling it an important milestone in the history of the Armed Forces, the President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped that the setting up of the Tribunal will enhance the confidence and trust among the large number of Services personnel in the country’s justice dispensation system in relation to their service matters. It has been a longstanding demand of the men in uniform to have the option for a review of decisions of the Court Martial.

Cautioning that the delay in dispensation of justice defeats the very purpose of delivery of justice, the President asked the Tribunal to be particularly careful in avoiding the build up of backlogs. “There should be predictability in court hearings and adjournments granted only in very exceptional circumstances,” she added.

Set up by an Act of Parliament in December, 2007, the AFT will have its Principal Bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches spread across the country. The Tribunal will have 15 courts in all, - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi. The Principal bench in New Delhi will be functional from Monday, August 10.

Terming the landmark event as a ‘magna carta’ in Indian military history, the Minister for Law and Justice, Shri M. Veerappa Moily said that the Tribunal would act as an outlet for redressal of grievances of Armed Forces personnel. The Tribunal is an endeavour in “the search for truth and justice” after the convergence of various pillars of democracy, Shri Moily said. He hoped that the Tribunal would not get bogged down in “the juggernaut of bureaucracy.” Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, who took over as the founder Chairperson of the Tribunal on Sep.1, 2008, said the arrears of pending cases in civilian courts is a matter of concern. He hoped that the Tribunal would reduce burden on the regular courts. At present nearly 10,000 such cases are pending before various courts across the country, most of them with the high courts.

The AFT will provide a judicial forum for redressal of grievances of about a 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel and another 1.2 million Ex-Servicemen. Having powers of a criminal court, the Tribunal can grant bail to men held in military custody and also hear appeals against sentences handed down by the court-martial. The decisions of the AFT can be challenged only in the Supreme Court.

The Tribunal will provide better justice delivery system to the Services personnel, particularly those living in remote and inaccessible areas, the Chief Justice of India Mr. Justice KG Balakrishnan said. Pointing out that the Army, Navy and the Air Force Acts have some archaic and “authoritative” provisions of the colonial legacy, he observed that there was a general perception that sitting officers of the Court Martial are not inclined to impartial and fair justice. The Tribunal’s success parameters would be to ensure fairness, speedy justice and its enforcement, he added.

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony said that the tribunal fills a void that existed in the military justice dispensation. It would fulfill the observations made by the Supreme Court long back in 1982 and the subsequent recommendations of the Law Commission that “the Services personnel must have atleast one judicial review” of verdicts handed down by the Court Martial.

The Tribunal will have a Chairperson who has been or is a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a high court. Besides, each court consists of a judicial member and an administrative member. Justice RV Ravindran, a sitting Supreme Court judge who is the Chairperson of the Selection Committee of the Armed Forces Tribunal, said that the decision making on grievances related to armed forces personnel demands specialized knowledge of Services protocol besides upholding the tenets of natural justice.

Delivering the closing address, the Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju said that this day heralds a new era in the administration of justice for the armed forces personnel.
Source: PIB

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Armed Forces Tribunal to be inaugurated tomorrow

The men in uniform will have another reason to cheer when their long-pending demand for justice becomes a reality with the launch of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) tomorrow. Befitting the momentous occasion, the long-awaited tribunal will be inaugurated by the President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

Set up by an Act of parliament in December, 2007, the Armed Forces Tribunal will have its Principal Bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches spread across the country. The Tribunal will have 15 courts in all, - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi.

Aggrieved armed forces personnel will now be able to appeal against sentences handed down by the court-martial. The Tribunal will also have powers to grant bail to any person in military custody. It is expected to be functional soon once the government issues the relevant notification. The AFT will provide a judicial forum for redressal of grievances of about a 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel and another 1.2 million Ex-Servicemen. At present about 9,000 such cases are pending before various courts across the country, most of them with the high courts. The AFT will not only result in speedy and affordable justice to the men in uniform but also save the Armed Forces’ resources in terms of manpower, material and time. The decisions of the AFT can be challenged only in the Supreme Court.

The Tribunal will have a Chairperson who has been or is a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a high court. Justice AK Mathur, a former judge of the Supreme Court, has been appointed the AFT’s first Chairperson and has assumed charge since Sep.01, 2008. Besides, each court consists of a judicial member and an administrative member. There will be in all 30 members in the 15 courts of the nine AFT benches, - 15 judicial including the Chairperson, and an equal number of administrative members. The judicial member must be, or have been, a judge of a High Court while the administrative member would be officers of the rank of Major General or equivalent in either of the three Services or an officer not less than the rank of a Brigadier or equivalent who has rendered not less than one year service as the Judge Advocate General of the Army, Navy or Air Force.

The government has already appointed eight judicial members and 15 administrative members, while seven judicial members are yet to be named. The eight judicial members appointed to the Tribunal alongwith the location of the bench are: - Justice AK Mathur (Chairperson, AFT, Principal Bench, New Delhi, Justice Manak Lall Mohta (New Delhi), Justice Ghanshyam Prasad (Chandigarh), Justice Janardhan Sahai (Lucknow – yet to join), Justice SS Kulshrestha (Lucknow), Justice Bhanwaroo Khan (Jaipur), Justice AC Arumugaperumal Adityan (Chennai) and Justice K Padmanabhan Nair (Kochi). The 15 administrative members are: Lt. General ML Naidu, Lt Gen. ZU Shah and Lt. Gen. SS Dhillon (all New Delhi bench), Lt. Gen. Amrik Singh Bahia, Lt Gen. HS Panag and Lt. Gen. NS Brar (all Chandigarh bench), Lt. Gen. PR Gangadharan, Lt. Gen. RK Chhabra and Lt. Gen. BS Sisodia (all Lucknow bench), Lt. Gen. Susheel Gupta (Jaipur), Vice Admiral RF Contractor (Mumbai), Lt. Gen. Madan Gopal (Kolkata), Commodore Mohan Phadke (Guwahati), Lt. Gen. S Pattabhiraman (Chennai) and Lt. Gen. Thomas Mathew (Kochi).
Source:PIB

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One-rank one-pension for Ex-Servicemen

The demand for one-rank one-pension stands already examined in detail and was not found acceptable due to administrative, financial and legal reasons.
Moreover, the pensionary benefits of the Personnel Below Officer Rank, particularly of the three ranks of Sepoy, Naik and Havildar, were significantly increased wef 1.1.2006 by increasing weightage from 5 years to 10, 8 and 6 years respectively and by allowing pension of pre-1.1.1996 retirees to be computed with reference to the maximum of the pay-scale introduced wef 01.01.1996.
In consultation with Ministry of Finance, the benefits thus accrued to PBOR have been allowed to be retained while revising their pension as per Government decision on the 6th CPC recommendations wef 1.1.2006.
However, the Government is also examining whether certain improvements can be made in the pension being given to the old pensioners. This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in a written reply to Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Rajya Sabha today.

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The Armed Forces are unhappy over the dilly dallying tactics of the government

From Today's News Papers - 8.Feb.09 Ex-servicemen protest over pension parity; return medals

New Delhi, Feb 08: A large number of ex-servicemen, including General rank officers, today returned their medals to the Government protesting the non-implementation of their demand for "one rank, one pension" (OROP) principle.

Alleging that a "raw deal" was given to the armed forces by the Sixth Pay Commission, the ex-servicemen, who also included Colonels, held a demonstration here and sent their medals to President Pratibha Patil, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. They also threatened to emerge as a "potential votebank" and contest elections to teach the "politicians and bureaucrats" a fitting lesson.

"We handed over all the medals of the ex-servicemen who participated in today's protest to an official of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The medals were in thousands," Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said. He termed the protest by the ex-servicemen as an "unparallelled" and "unfortunate" development in the country.

"A soldier devotes the best years of his life to the country. When he retires, his medals are his most prized possession. These are a proud record of his contribution to keeping the country safe and united," Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, who is set to return his Param Vhishst Seva Medal (PVSM) and other medals, said.

The former military-men said they were "forced" to come out to the streets by the successive governments to meet their demands and get justice. Apart from the 'one rank one pension', their demands include constitution of 'Services Commission' with due representation from the armed forces.

"Our other demand is that when problems related to ex-servicemen are discussed, the defence people should have a bigger say. The bureaucrats do not know anything about the Army," said Col (Retd) M S Krishna Moorthy, who had served in the World War-II, Burma and Indian mission to Nepal and Congo. Col Chaturvedi, who had served the country in many wars, said pension is a deferred wage and it is a payment for services already rendered.

"Therefore, logic and equity demand that two individuals rendering equal service, both in terms of quantum and quality, must receive equal pension," he said. The former army men and officers accused the Congress-led UPA of not implementing the legitimate demand of 'one rank one pension' despite having included in the Congress manifesto during the last Parliamentary elections. "Not only the Congress Government, even the BJP-led NDA Government failed to solve our problems.

The successive governments have forced the army men to come to the streets," Col Kanwar Bhardwaj, who will return his 'Sena' medal to the President, said.

Courtesy: Zee News

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Partially accepting demands of the armed forces for parity...

New Delhi: Partially accepting demands of the armed forces for parity in salaries with their civilian counterparts, Government has issued orders for placing officers of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and equivalents in the pay band-4 (PB-4).

The Government’s orders in the regard were received by the Services on Monday, defence ministry sources said. But the issues of Lt Cols getting grade pay equal to their IAS counterparts, and command and control are yet to be resolved.

As per the new orders, Lt Cols will now be in upgraded pay bracket of Rs37,400-67,000 (PB-4) with a grade pay of Rs8,000 from the earlier scale of Rs15,600-39,100 (PB-3) with a grade pay of Rs7,600. The Services were demanding a grade pay of Rs8,700 for this pay band created after the 6th Pay Commission recommendations.

With upgraded pay-scales, Lt Cols and their equivalents in the other two services will now be senior to deputy secretaries in central government, directors in state governments and senior superintendents of police, commandants (junior grade) in the Coast Guard and the non-functional selective grade in central engineering services, they said.

As per the letter issued by a senior defence ministry official, PB-4 would now be applicable to tenure postings with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Director General (Quality Assurance) and National Cadet Corps as these organisations fall within the purview of the ministry and the pay allowances are paid from the its budget.Officers on deputation and training on foreign assignments would also be in PB-4.

Officers posted with organisations such as Assam Rifles, National Security Guards and Border Road Organisation (BRO) will also benefit from the government’s move.Only a handful of Lt Col level officers would now be left in the PB-3.

“Officers on deputation to organisations such as National Highway Authority, Railways, Pawan Hans and state governments, where the nature of duty is not in line with normal combat profile of service personnel, would draw PB-3 scales,” a source said.

It said the number of such officers in the three services would be less than 50.Officers are expected to get the revised salaries from March, sources said.

In a letter to the defence ministry, tri-services’ Principal Personnel Officers Committee chairman vice-admiral D.K. Dewan had in January said the armed forces wanted all Lt Cols to be placed under the Pay B and 4 including those on deputation to paramilitary and other services.

The armed forces had told defence ministry that it did not favour another PMO proposal to not send Lt Cols on deputation to other services.

It said the services and the rules governing them did not make any distinction and that all of the officers were performing combat/ready-to-combat jobs.

Mr.Dewan had written the letter replying to a verbal query from the defence ministry on a 31 December PMO note that the government proposed to place only those Lt Cols serving in “combat/ready-to-combat” roles in Army, Navy and Air Force the Pay Band-4 benefits.

source: PTI (03-02-2009)

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