The govt.sleeps while sadists take the system for a ride-Maj.Navdeep : Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Dear Veterans,
Regards.Maj.Navdeep has posted the following on his blog. Our organisation fully endosres his views and I request all other welfare organisations of veterans to take same stand.The legal pundits are bent upon crushing the pensioners, particulary,the veterans and their dependents. We will have to take a bold stand against this injustice being done to us all. We should stand united and pay heed the clarion call.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The gameplan of legal pundits : The govt sleeps while
sadists take the system for a ride-Navdeep
You may have read this on the blog before.
All is fair in love and war they say, and the same seems
to be the battle-cry of the Central Government against
its retired employees.So what is it that the people in
officialdom have against disabled veterans and
pensioners ?The last months have seen the Union of
India filing appeals and SLPs in almost every decision
of the Hon’ble Courts allowing disability pension to
disabled veterans. The same is the story with other
pensionary matters. I feel ashamed in saying this but
while the lawyers make hay, former soldiers and their
families suffer in silence.It is turning out to be sickening
now. And this is to say the least.Law has now been well
settled by the Courts including the Hon’ble Supreme
Court on certain issues, but the legal advisors of the
government are in no mood to relent. Even when High
Courts (and now benches of the AFT) are deciding
matters with well-rounded decisions based on settled
law and principles of equity, the central govt continues
to mindlessly file appeals before the Supreme Court.
The govt also continues to refuse benefits to veterans
in settled issues till the time individual cases are filed
separately by pensioners. One such glaring example
discussed before is disability pension to voluntary
retirees. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has
upheld the right of voluntary retirees to receive disability
pension, the Union of India continues to file appeals
against decisions of High Courts granting such benefits
to affected disabled personnel. Another very recent and
shocking example is SLP No 688 of 2010 filed by the
Central Govt before the Supreme Court which was listed
for hearing on 25th of January, 2010. The case involved
the improved pensionary benefits granted to PBOR wef
10-10-1997 after removing the anomalies of the 5th CPC.
The Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court had earlier
in the year 2008 held that such benefits had to be granted
to affected personnel with effect from 01-01-1996
(and not 10-10-1997) since the anomaly had to be rectified
from the date of its inception and not from some other
prospective artificial date. The High Court had hence
held personnel who retired between 01-01-1996 to
10-10-1997 also entitled to the enhanced benefits. The
Union of India, as expected, challenged the verdict
before the Hon’ble Supreme Court through an SLP but
the same was dismissed on merits on 21-11-2008. So far,
so good, but what is shameful is that fully knowing that
the law was now settled by the Apex Court and that the
Central Govt had itself rectified this anomaly through
the anomalies committee, another SLP (the above
mentioned 688 of 2010) was filed by them this new year
against another such decision by the same High Court
and the same has again been dismissed by the Apex
Court on 25-01-2010. I bet the Hon’ble Supreme Court
would not have been informed in the fresh SLP of the
earlier dismissal of an exactly similar case in the year
2008.It is high time that the Defence Minister, the
military top brass and the Defence Secretary take a
call on this mindless one sided ego based litigation
which, besides leading to burdening judicial fora, is
also leading to burden on the State and demoralisation
of rank and file. Nobody stands to gain except probably
the battery of lawyers appearing for the Union of India.
It also seems that power has been concentrated in the
hands of a few officers dealing with pensionary and legal
matters who have spent quite a few years in the corridors
of the Services Headquarters & the Ministry and decisions
of filing appeals are thrust upon the top brass without due
judiciousness or sensitivity concerning the issues at hand.
This must change. A letter recently marked to the Defence
Minster by a an ex-services welfare organisation aptly
describes the rot :
“Lower staff at the Pension wing of the Defence Ministry
is also known to prepare misleading and deceptive noting
sheets which are put up to senior officers and even the
Raksha Mantri, who in good faith affix their initials
leaving the gallery open to such officers who then flaunt
the said approvals by stating that the same have the
sanction of the Defence Minister. It is also learnt that
the officers in the Defence Ministry have asked Govt
lawyers in writing to change their legal opinion when
such lawyers had advised against filing of appeals.
”What is the game behind this, one may ask. Well, the
govt is well aware that disabled veterans and poor
pensioners do not have adequate financial back-up to
defend their cases in the Supreme Court, so for the govt.
it is well worth taking a chance. I can only say that in
the interest of equity and fair-play, we all must wake
up before some officers take the entire defence services
and the legal system for a royal ride. It is also time for
senior staff of the Ministry and our uniformed officers
to apply proper mind before they permit their
subordinates to resort to unethical litigation against
poor people who have served the nation to the best of
their abilities. The hint of my call is particularly
directed towards the upper echelons of Department of
Ex-Servicemen Welfare in the MoD and the Personnel
Services Directorate in the Army Headquarters. The
tendency to view poor litigants as ‘Enemies of the State’
must also change.
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob.098554-09128 Tele-fax 0175-5000896.