Tribunal puts army in dock says different benefits for similar injuries is discrimination :Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Tribunal puts army in dock- says different benefits for
similar injuries is discrimination
NEW DELHI: When a bullet coming from the other side of
the border does not distinguish between a commissioned
and non-commissioned officer in the Army, how can the
government do so when it comes to grant of death-cum-
retirement gratuity (DCRG), wondered the newly-
constituted Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) headed by a
retired Supreme Court judge. In a major order that would
assuage the long-standing grievance of the officers, both
commissioned and non-commissioned, AFT principal
Bench comprising chairperson Justice A K Mathur and
member Lt Gen M L Naidu said this discrimination in
payment of DCRG was violative of Article 14 (right to
equality) guaranteed under the Constitution. A petition
filed by the Disabled War Veterans (India) through
counsel Aishwarya Bhati had made two major grievances —
one relating to the difference in payment of DCRG and
the other regarding computation of pension for a disabled
soldier. Bhati had alleged that the government takes into
account the minimum payscale in the rank of the disabled
soldier to compute the war injury pension to him and had
requested AFT to direct the Centre to consider taking into
account the highest pay in the rank for the purpose. AFT
agreed on both counts with the counsel. On DCRG, it said
once the short service commission officers and the
permanent service commission officers fight on the border
shoulder-to-shoulder, they formed the same class and no
further distinction can be made. "Once they form the same
class and they are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against
the enemy and if unfortunately both of them receive an
injury and they are disabled then no distinction can be
made in the payment of DCRG," the AFT said asking the
government to take serious note of the anomaly and review
the policy forthwith. "We cannot give them benefit, but we
can only request the government that this payment of DCRG
on the basis of distinction between short service commission
and regular service commission is highly discriminatory.
We hope and trust that the government will remove this
discrimination which is apparent on the face of it," it said.
Coming to computation of war injury pension, the AFT said
the cause of injury which disabled a soldier and cut short
his career was beyond the control of the personnel and such
persons should be treated fairly by being given war injury
pension on the basis of the highest pay in the rank. "We feel
strongly that it is a matter which requires serious
consideration of the government that a person whose career
has been sacrificed for safeguarding the Indian border and
he is to be treated in such a poor way that he is being paid
war disabled pension on the basis of minimum of the scale
of that rank," the AFT Bench said. "The maximum scale of
that rank should be considered for determining the amount
of war injury pension," the AFT said disposing of the petition
by the Disabled War Veterans.
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob.09554-09128,Tele-Fax 0175-5000896.