Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.
- David Herbert Lawrence
*****
DID MOD HAVE LEGAL PERMISSION FOR SAI/SNI/SAFI No. 2/S/98
SYS/RTI/MoD/2013 15th
April 2013
To,
CPIO &
Under Secretary (Pay/Services),
Ministry of
Defence,
Sena Bhawan,
New Delhi – 110
011
REQUEST FOR
INFORMATION: RANK PAY MATTER
Sir,
1. I sincerely regret
the errors in numbering of paragraph and of the SAI/SNI/SAFI in my application
of same reference dated 26th March 2013 as pointed out in MoD F. No.
35 (1)/2013 – D (Pay/Services) dated 8th April 2013 and received
today by Speed Post at 13.25 hours.
2. I enclose crossed
Indian Postal Order Number 16F 452261
issued by the Indira Nagar PO for Rs 10/- (Rupees Ten only) on 18.2.2013,
endorsed to Accounts Officer (DAD), Ministry of Defence (Civil), payable at New
Delhi, as application fee for this fresh
application.
3. Chronology of
events in the Rank Pay matter constructed from information provided by MoD in
reply to previous RTI applications is as follows: -
|
S No
|
Date
|
Issues
|
|
1
|
6th
February 1996
|
Maj A.K. Dhanapalan filed the Original Petition (O.P.) No. 2448
of 1996 in the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala challenging deduction of Rank Pay
from revised pay
|
|
2
|
30th
January 1997
|
5th CPC submitted its Report and Recommendations to
Govt of India
|
|
3
|
30th
September 1997
|
GoI approved 5th CPC Report vide MoF Notification No.
50 (I)/IC/97
|
|
4
|
19th
December 1997
|
MoD issues SAI/SNI/SAFI 2/S/1998 including the methodology
recommended by 5th CPC for fixation of pay of Defence Services
Officers
|
|
5
|
5th
October 1998
|
Learned Single Judge of Hon’ble High Court of Kerala passes
judgment upholding Maj Dhanapalan’s O.P. and directs Respondents (UoI &
Ors) to make corrections from 01.01.86
|
|
6
|
4th
July 2003
|
Division Bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala dismisses Writ
Appeal No. 518 of 1998 against judgment of Learned Single Judge.
|
|
7
|
12th
July 2005
|
Supreme Court dismisses UoI’s Special Leave to Appeal 5908 of
2005
|
|
8
|
8th
March 2010
|
Hon’ble Supreme Court hears TP (C) 56 of 2007 and tagged Writ
Petitions; agrees with the reasoning of the Learned Single Judge & the
Division Bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala and orders re-fixation of
pay scale without deducting rank pay and payment of arrears with 6% interest
p.a. with retrospective effect from
1.1.1986
|
|
9
|
4th
September 2012
|
Hon’ble Supreme Court hears both parties in UoI’s IA No. 9 of
2010 in TP (C) 56 of 2007 confirms the Order of 8.3.2010 with one change i.e.
interest on arrears to be paid from 1.1.2006
|
4. In the copies of
Affidavits filed in IA No. 9 of 2010 in TP (Civil) 56 of 2007 and notes on
files provided by MoD and MoF in reply to RTI applications, there are numerous
references to the Recommendations of
the 5th CPC Report (Part VII, Section II – Pay Scales Armed Forces)
of Para 148.1 and Para 148.2 for re-fixation of pay scales of Armed Forces
officers of the ranks of Captain to Brigadiers, with illustrations which have
been omitted in this application, as these are well read and known
5. MoD
has quoted Para 148.2 of the 5th CPC Report as justification for the
methodology and illustrations followed vide Para 28.113 of the 4th
CPC Report, when referring to judgments and orders of the Hon’ble Courts. There
is however one fact that has not been mentioned, even once, and that is how SAI/SNI/SAFI No. 2/S/1998 was
promulgated on 19th December 1997 while Maj Dhanapalan’s case was
still sub-judice (the Learned Single Judge delivered his judgment on 5th
October 1998).
6. As
MoD is the nodal Ministry in the Rank Pay matter, please provide me with
photocopies, or CD, of information comprising Records, documents, memos,
e-mails, opinions, advices, circulars, orders, logbooks, reports, papers,
judicial pronouncements on the following:-
(i) On
what date did MoD (Respondent No.1) receive notice from the Hon’ble High Court
of Kerala or Maj A K Dhanapalan, the Petitioner, about filing of Original
Petition No, 2448 of 1996N?
(ii) On
what date and who informed other concerned Ministries such as but not
restricted to Law & Justice and Finance/Department(s) Legal Affairs, Dept
of Expenditure of the Government of India, on receiving notice of filing of O.P. No.2448/1996 and being both the
Respondent No. 1, and the Nodal Ministry in the Rank Pay matter,
(iii) If MoD considered it unnecessary
to inform other Ministries/Departments, please provide information on reasons
leading to the decision not to inform other Ministries/Departments and the
Competent Authority who authorised that decision to keep silent on the matter.
(iv) If MoD informed the other
Ministries/departments that the methodology i.e of deducting Rank Pay from
revised emoluments before re-fixation in the scale proposed in Para 28.113 of
the 4th CPC Report was under the legal challenge in the Hon’ble High
Court of Kerala, was any reply received from MoF, the Nodal Ministry for Pay
Commissions or any advice from the Ministry of Law & Justice?
(v) In this sub-judice matter, whether
MoD sought advice from Ld Law Officers whether it is legally correct to include
the impugned methodology of deduction of Rank Pay in SAI/SNI/SAFI 2/S/1998
dated 19th December 1997?
(vi) On receipt of legal advice by MoD,
if any, particulars of legal proceedings in the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala
for seeking Court’s permission to include the impugned deduction of Rank pay in
re-fixing pay of Armed Forces officers in SAI/SNI/SAFI 2/S/1998, which was
published on 19th December 1997 i.e. before the Single Judge of the
Hon’ble High Court of Kerala had pronounced any judgment in O.P. No.
2448/1996,
(vii) Please provide copies of such
order(s) if MoD obtained any kind of Judicial order(s)/dispensation(s) from the
Hon’ble High Court of Kerala, for promulgation of the SAI/SNI/SAFI 2/S/1998.
(viii) If MoD did not approach the
Hon’ble High Court of Kerala before promulgating SAI/SNI/SAFI No. 2/S/98, the
process of notings and any other information that determined “go ahead” with
promulgating the impugned methodology of deduction of Rank Pay in SAI/SNI/SAFI
2/S/1998 dated 19.12.1997, (in the specific context of the pending O.P. No.
2448 of 1996 N.)
(ix) Whether MoD, now the Petitioner in
W.A No. 518/1999 B, mentioned in its affidavits the 5th CPC
recommendations and promulgation of SAI/SNI/SAFI No. 2/S/1998 of 19th
December 1997, including the impugned methodology (Para 148.2 of 5th
CPC Report)? If not, please provide information on the background of the
decision not to inform the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala.
(x) Information on whether it was a
conscious MoD decision, whether it was with legal advice or without legal
advice, not to mention this aspect in the Hon’ble Supreme Court first in TP (C)
56 of 2007 and subsequently in I.A. No. 9 of 2010 in TP (C) 56 of 2007 and
related cases, in the several affidavits filed by UoI mentioning the
methodology of the 5th CPC (Para 148.2 of 5th CPC Report
refers).
7. I inform in advance
that I may not be requested to visit MoD to inspect and search for the
documents/information. I shall remit, as I have done hitherto, any additional
amount, so desired by MoD, for the photocopies.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Sd/------------------
(S Y Savur)
Encl: IPO No. 16F 452261 as stated at Para 7 above.
******************
Reply from MoD dated 26th April 2013 Received on 1st May 2013 is as below
F. No. 35(1) 2013-D (Pay/Services)
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
New Delhi, the 26th April, 2013
To,
Shri S. Y.
Savur,
141, Jal Vayu
Towers,
NGEF Layout,
Indira Nagar
(PO),
Bangalore –
560038
Subject: Your
letter No. SYS/RTI/MoD/2013 dt 15.04.2013
Sir,
This is with reference to your
request for information No. SYS/RTI/MoD/2013 dt. 15.04.2013 received in this
office on 18.04.2013.
2.
The
parawise information as sought by you is as under: -
(i)
The
information sought does not exist in D (Pay/Services) records.
(ii)
The
information sought does not exist in D (Pay/Services) records.
(iii)
The
reasons which are not available on record have been sought and as such they
cannot be supplied.
(iv)
Not
applicable in view of (i) above.
(v)
The
information sought does not exist in D (Pay/Services) records.
(vi)
Not
applicable in view of (v) above.
(vii)
The
information sought does not exist in D (Pay/Services) records.
(viii)
The
information sought does not exist in D (Pay/Services) records.
(ix)
No
reference was made to SAI/SNI/SAFI 2/S/98 of 19th December 1997 in
Memorandum of Writ Appeal and Additional Affidavit filed therein. Copies of
these documents are enclosed herewith. Information on the background of the
decision not to inform the High Court cannot be given as it is not available on
records of D (Pay/Services).
(x)
No
other information apart from what has already been provided to you exists in
this matter.
The Service
Hqrs also submit their demands to the Pay Commissions. You may also like to
take up the matter with them to seek the relevant information from their
side/records.
3.
In
case you are not satisfied with the reply you may appeal to Shri Praveen Kumar,
Director (AG-I), Ministry of Defence, Room No. 103, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi
within 30 days of receipt of this letter.
4.
With
reference to para 4 of your letter No. SYS/RTI/MoD/2013 dt 16.04.2013 received
on 26.04.2013 in this office it is stated that while the contents of the file
are not normally numbered sequentially, sometimes the papers in the file are
not numbered for various reasons. No action, therefore, is left to be taken in
this regard on MoD part.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/------------
(P. S. Walia)
Under Secretary & CPIO
Encls; as
above
********
Reply ends
Dear Shri Sayur,
ReplyDelete1. I do not know whether you are an ESM or a civilian activist. But after reading this blog of yours and browsing through few others, I was convinced of the corpus of information collected by you, on defence pay matters since 1973. It shows your dedication and sense of purpose. Thanks for your service rendered to serving soldiers as well as to ESM.
2. I came across your blog while finding answer to my deprivation of Lt Col (TS) rank, pay and pension. I feel, I should get these benefits either vide para 5A(III) or para 5A(IV)of SAO 2/S/98. I too had a feeling that this SAO has no legal backing. The ibid paras give promotions that are ex-post facto, en masse and not based on merit or work load of the promoted rank but on the basis of providing relief to long stagnated officers in Major’s rank. I retired on 16 Jul 96 as a major, with 33 years of service. The breakdown is- 17.5 years as a commissioned officer+ 7.5 years as an OR + 8 years of waightage of Majors rank. My plea is, instead of the precondition of 21 years of commissioned service, 21 years of colored or qualified service should be considered. Moreover, mine is the only one case of this peculier nature. So there is not going to be huge financial outflow.
3. I feel, your advice in this matter would prove valuable to me. My letter to COAS will explain the details of my case. To forward to you, this letter written to COAS, kindly inform me your E mail Id either by mail on major_prakash@yahoo.com or by sms or whatsapp on 9923832777.
With regards.
Major Prakash Patil (Retd)