Happy New Year 2013

 

 

 

 

MoD LETTER DATED 27 DEC 2012 IS AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT IN RANK PAY CASE: THOUSANDS DEPRIVED OF THEIR DUE EMOLUMENTS

Dear Veterans                                                                                     Dated: 01 Jan 2013

 

Letter to RM and three Chiefs regarding MoD Letter dated 27 Dec 2012 against the spirit of SC judgement in Rank Pay Case: thousands deprived of their due emoluments is enclosed herewith for your information and wide circulation please.

 

With Regards,

 

Yours Sincerely,

Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM                                                                         

Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement                                                                    Mobile: 9312404269, 0124-4110570                                                                        Email: satbirsm@gmail.com

..........................

                                                                                                            Dated: 01 Jan 2013               

 

To,
Shri A. K. Antony,
Defence Minister,
104, South Block,
13, Parliament House,
New Delhi - 110001

 

MoD LETTER DATED 27 DEC 2012 IS AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT IN RANK PAY CASE: THOUSANDS DEPRIVED OF THEIR DUE EMOLUMENTS

 

Dear Shri A K Antony,

1.   Once again MoD has betrayed its soldiers. The Supreme Court Judgement in Rank Pay case has not been implemented in letter and spirit making it largely redundant and thus denying the due emoluments to thousands of officers. This is another case of bureaucratic manipulation against the soldiers. The MoD letter is applicable to only about 20000 officers who were holding the rank of Captain to Brigadier on    01 Jan 1986 whereas it should have covered all officers who are in receipt of pay or pension or the family pension which should approximately works out to over 80000.

 

 

2.   Mr. Antony Sir, the MoD letter not only denies the pay scale upgradation of defence officers but also as a result leaves out the re-fixation of pensions of those who retired before January 1986 as well as consequential benefits to all officers arising out of the implementation of the fifth and sixth pay commissions.  Sir, how can you allow such a perjury on your officer soldiers?

 

 

3.   Supreme Court Judgement clearly accepts that the rank pay granted by 4^th CPC was wrongly deducted from the basic pay of officers of the rank of Captain to Brigadier and ordered re-fixation of pay with effect from 01.01.1986. Even a person with some common sense will infer that the implementation of SC judgement would not only involve re-fixation of pay and pension by adding the wrongly deducted amount with effect from 01 Jan 1986 and cumulatively carry forward to 5^th and 6^th CPCs but also the upgradation of scales in the respective CPCs.  The letter issued on 27 Dec 2012  in Para 8 states that the judgement has no bearing on 5^th and 6^th CPCs. However, it is important to point out to you that in the 5^th CPC exactly the same kind of a parallel anomaly was there and it was also there on record in various petitions in the SC in the same case and also in the affidavits filed by the UOI on which ultimately the SC ordered that the anomaly shall be corrected w.e.f 01-01-1986 and NOT as on 01-01-1986 as has been stated in the Govt letter.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

4.   The letter in the same Para also states that there shall be no change in the instructions issued after the 5^th and 6^th CPCs except those necessitated due to re-fixation of pay on 01-01-1986, meaning thereby that only the fitment of pay within the existing scales (and not upgraded scales) of those whose pay is re-fixed on 01-01-1986 when migrating to 5^th CPC on 01-01-1996 or to 6^th CPC scales on 01-01-2006 if the officer continued serving, would be affected as per the fitment formula. This of course is a natural consequence since when the pay on 01-01-1986 is re-fixed, then of course the migration into the 5^th CPC scale on 01-01-1996 would be at a higher stage within the existing 5^th CPC scale in accordance with the existing fitment formula and same would be the case with 6^th CPC. This is nothing extra and already pre-exists with or without the Govt letter.

 

 

5.  Also Sir  do you expect that all affected parties would again go to the SC to seek fresh orders on a similar anomaly in the next pay commission or for upgradation of scales whereas the same was fully argued before the SC by all parties leading to a considered verdict of the Hon’ble Apex Court?. If the correction would have been honestly carried out in the correct spirit, then it was to become applicable to all officers, serving, or retired and the family pensioners and even to those who retired prior to 1986. The deduction of rank pay had resulted in depressed scales and status and once corrected should have resulted in automatic upgradation of scales of the 4^th CPC as well as the 5^th and the 6^th CPCs as was also fully argued before the Court and contained in the various affidavits filed by both the Petitioners and the UOI in the court which is on record.

 

 

6.  Please ask your officers as to how the rank of Captain which was shown at par and equal to Senior Time Scale (Under Secretary to Govt of India) till 3^rd CPC even before the Supreme Court, was suddenly degraded in the 4^th CPC and the same Senior Time Scale was reflected equal to Major of the Army after the 4^th CPC which continues till date? Sir, let us assure you, there was no order by the 4^th CPC or any other authority directing that the rank of Captain be degraded from Senior Time Scale and clubbed with Junior Time Scale alongwith then existing 2^nd Lt and Lt. This is how systematic degradation has been taking place at the behest of a certain lobby in the MoD without the Political executive being in knowledge of the same.

 

 

7.  Sir, Till the 3^rd CPC, 2nd Lt and Lt were equated with Junior Time Scale and Capt was equated with Senior Time Scale, suddenly after the rank pay fiasco in the 4^th CPC, three ranks of the Army, that is 2^nd Lt, Lt and Capt were shown clubbed with a single rank of the civil, that is, Junior Time Scale, whereas Major was now shown equal to Senior Time Scale which continues till date. Who was responsible for this? How could it be allowed that the first Class-I/Group-A/Commissioned rank of 2^nd Lt alongwith two promotional posts/ranks of Lt and Capt were all clubbed with the first rank on the civil side, that is, Junior Time Scale? All happened because of the strange manipulations in the rank pay saga during the 4^th CPC which has been corrected by the Hon’ble SC.

 

 

8.  Similarly a Major (Selection Grade) drew a pay equal to the Selection Grade/Non-Functional Selection Grade (SG/NFSG) of  the civil services, but today an SG/NFSG civil officer enjoys a status and draws a pay equal to a full Colonel!. Manipulations such as these and degradation of status and sheen of the military rank continue till date where the civil staff puts up noting sheets to you and gets your signatures on orders without taking into confidence the military staff. It has always been a one-sided affair and continues till date. Shouldn’t stake-holders be consulted before taking decisions that affect them and indirectly also the pensioners? Do you know that by manipulating and reducing the pay and status of serving officers, even the pensioners and family pensioners are affected since their pensions are linked to existing scales? I’m sure you would not be knowing all this Sir and elements would also ensure that you do not get to know the correct situation since there exists a thick huge wall between what is projected to you and what is the reality.

 

 

9.  Sir, the MoD, while arguing their case, had itself, through affidavits and submissions to Supreme Court accepted that the implementation of Court judgement would involve re-fixation of not only the, Fourth Pay Commission but would affect  Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions. The MoD also maintained that it would alter payment of all consequential and resultant benefits of officers and their families wherever applicable.  In a recently filed affidavit seeking extension of time for implementation of the judgement, the MoD had stated that the judgement related to three successive pay commissions and also affected the benefits of officers who retired prior to 1986.  Then how can MoD issue implementing instruction contrary to the above submission? The concerned staff has very carefully chosen to stick on to certain words without looking at the spirit of the entire order and what was argued in the Court.

 

 

10.  Sir, as submitted above, while the court had ordered re-fixation of scales with effect from 01 Jan 1986, Para 6 of the MoD instructions issued on 27 Dec 2012 grants the benefits to officers as on “01.01.1986”.  The SC judgement, which was to have a cascading effect on the fixation of pay and pay scales from 01 Jan 1986 ie with effect from fourth pay commission, continuing till date, has fraudulently been made applicable only to those persons who were in receipt of rank pay as on 01 Jan 1986.

 

 

11.  The letter issued by the MoD, is clearly a grave injustice to your soldier officers.  It can easily be termed as: “Rarest of Rare Fraud, perjury and Injustice to Defence Forces”.  How do you expect the demoralized and demotivated officers to lead from the front and sacrifice their lives when the Govt is denying them their due respect, status, interse equation with other services and emoluments?  You have not been fair sir.

 

 

12.  In view of the above, we request you to order immediate cancellation of the 27^th Dec 2012 letter regarding Rank Pay and issue comprehensive instructions incorporating all aspects of the SC judgement correctly as mentioned above.

 

  13.  We request for an immediate appointment with you to explain the injustice being done to veterans and armed forces.

 

 

                                                With Regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Jai Hind

 

Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian Ex Servicemen Movement
 Mobile: 9312404269, 0124-411057Email:satbirsm@yahoo.com, satbirsm@gmail.com

Copy to :-

General Bikram Singh, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC  Chief of the Army Staff. Integrated HQs of Armed Forces (Army)  South Block, New Delhi-110011.	You are the present baton holders of the Defence Forces.  We request you to kindly take up the issue in the strongest possible manner with the Govt to stop harassment of soldier and get lawful implementing orders issued in the   true spirit of the SC judgement.
Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC Chief of the Naval Staff Integrated HQs of Armed Forces (Navy) South Block, New Delhi-110011.	Our request as above.
Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, PVSM, AVSM, VM. Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Air Staff. Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi 110011.	Our request as above.