Air Chief Marshal Browne’s First Letter
(From an anonymous
source)
Dear Hon’ble Raksha Mantri,
1. At the very outset I would like to tank the Hon’ble Raksha
Mantri for the unstinted support to the cause of Defence Services and
commitment to the welfare of Ex-Servicemen. Various improvements in the pay,
allowances and pensions would not have been possible without your pro-active
support.
2. In keeping with the same spirit, I wish to draw the
attention of Hon’ble Raksha Mantri t some very vital issues arising out of the
issuance of Govt letter consequent to Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment of 04 Sep
12 ratifying Hon’ble Kerala High Court in the case of Rank Pay for officers
(popularly known as ‘Major Dhanapalan case’). Copies of the aforestated
judgments and MoD letter dated 27 Dec 12 are placed at Annexure 1, 2 and 3
respectively.
Govt Order issued by
MoD and its implications
3. The
salient aspects of the Govt orders issued by the MoD vide letter No.
34(6)/2012-D(Pay/Services) dated 27 Dec 12 (Annexure 3) are highlighted
hereunder alongwith resultant anomalies: -
(a) The order envisages re-fixation of Pay
for all Army, Navy and Air Force officers who were in receipt of Rank Pay as on
01.01.86.
(i) Anomaly.
This stipulation of the Govt is
contrary to the recorded judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court/Hon’ble Kerala High
Court which clearly state that it should be applicable with effect from 1.1.86
to all similarly situated officers and not only officers in service as on 01 Jan 86. It may also be
relevant to highlight that such serious departure from documented verdict of
the Apex Court was never discussed during various meetings amongst
representatives of MoD, CGDA and Services HQ. It appears that this change has
been incorporated at a later stage which has significantly altered the
complexion of Hon’ble Supreme Court verdict to the detriment of the affected
officers.
(ii) Further, this provision of the Govt
letter also effectively means that officers promoted to the rank of Capt and
equivalent after 01 Jan86 will not be covered by this order. This will lead to
officers with same years of service and rank drawing different pay (lesser for
those officers who joined/promoted as Capt/equivalent after 01 Jan 86) in the
currency of the same pay commission and therefore violates the basic principle
that personnel holding similar rank with equal years of service are remunerated
equally in terms of pay and pension. It is illustrated through the following
example: -
|
Rank
|
Pay in III CPC
|
Minimum Pay in IV CPC (Prior to Court verdict
|
Pay to be Revised for officers as on 01.01.86 (as per MoD
letter)
|
Anomaly in Pay for other officers who join/promoted to the
rank of Capt/equivalent after 01 Jan 86
|
|
Capt
|
1200
|
2800+200 Rank Pay
|
3000 + 200 Rank Pay
|
2800 + 200 Rank Pay
|
|
STS (Civ)
|
1100-1200
|
3000
|
3000
|
3000
|
(b) The Govt order stipulates that there will
not be a change in any other provision except relating to deduction of rank pay
for only those officers who held the ranks (i.e. between Capt to
Brig/equivalents) as on 01 Jan 86.
(i) Anomaly.
Since the integrated pay scale of 4th CPC has not been rationalised,
re-fixation of pay as per the Govt order will lead not only to stagnation of
majority of Col & Brig/equivalents at top of the scale of Rs 5100 in
initial years itself but would also result in reduction in entitled pay to
Brig/equivalents, consequent to re-fixation. This order is un-implementable to
that extent.
(c) The Govt order stipulates that there
would be no change for implementation in the 5th and 6th
CPC respectively, except to the extent of need for re-fixation necessitated due
to re-fixation of pay as on 01.01.86.
(i) Anomaly. During the implementation of 5th
CPC, the pay scales of officers of the ranks of Capt to Brig/equivalents were
downwardly adjusted by an amount equal to Rank Pay (revised) thereby causing a
consequential effect on getting lesser replacement pay for defence officers in
5th CPC. This further leads to obtaining lower replacement scales
and Grade Pay in the 6th CPC. Even the pay fixation formula of the
5h CPC, which was similar to the 4th CPC, has not been amended by
deleting the provisions of deduction of Rank Pay on 01 Jan 96. The Govt letter
does not address these aspects and this violates the spirit of the Apex Court’s
judgment.
Recommendations
4. In keeping with the true ethos of a disciplined force, the
three Services HQ have already directed their concerned functionaries to
implement the Govt orders as issued by MoD. However it is felt that these
orders in their present form suffer from serious infirmities as brought out
above and would lead to unprecedented disparity. I therefore recommend that the
following basic issues be addressed on priority in order to comply with Hon’ble
Supreme Court verdict: -
(a) Re-fixation of pay be done with effect
from 01.01.86 in respect of all defence officers who were in service as on
01.01.86 as well as for those who joined/promoted thereafter as per documented
verdict of Hon’ble Supreme Court.
(b) The minimum of pay for each rank in the
integrated Pay Scales of 4th CPC which were then arrived at by
deducting the Rank Pay needs to be re-fixed after adjusting for the Rank Pay to
ensure single pay scale for the same rank and length of service. This would
also restore the modified parity for pre-1986 retirees.
(c) The upper limit of Rs 5100 in the
integrated pay scale of the 4th CPC which was arrived at after
making allowance for the Rank Pay, will have to be suitably amended to ensure
effective implementation of the Govt orders.
(d) Corresponding amendments to the relevant
Special pay instructions for the 5th and 6th CPC are also
required so as to effect the verdicts of the Hon’ble Supreme Court/Kerala High
Court in letter and spirit.
5. The above analysis is in full consonance with the report of
a high powered committee set up by MoD in Apr 2010 chaired by then Def Secy
having Secy (Department of Expenditure) and Secy (Def/Fin) as members (placed
at Annexure 4). Later this report was also submitted as an additional affidavit
in the Hon’ble Supreme Court by MoD. No complying with sworn affidavit in the
Hon’ble Supreme Court may lead to further litigation.
6. The implementation order issued by MoD falls much short of
expectations and I fear it will fuel further litigation and may enhance the feeling
of alienation if the just benefits of Armed Forces are not given soon. I would
therefore, implore and request the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri to have a re-look at
the issue in entirety and issue necessary directions for carrying out suitable
amendments in the Govt letter in line with affidavit submitted by GoI to ensure
correct and effective implementation of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court.
With
Warm Regards
Yours
sincerely
Sd/-----------
Copy to: -
COAS
CNS
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