High Court raps MoD over reply in pension case

Vijay Mohan, Tribune News Service, Chandigarh, December 25

The tone and contents of a reply submitted on behalf of the defence secretary in a contempt petition has invited wrath of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Recording its displeasure on the manner the reply had been drafted, the court observed that such actions were non-appreciable.

Though the High Court discharged the defence secretary from contempt proceedings in the case pertaining to release of pension of an ex-serviceman, it directed him to be careful in the future while filing such replies.

Harjinder Singh, residing at an old age home here, was discharged in 1967 after the completion of pensionable service in the army. However, the CDA authorities denied him reservist pension on the ground that he was discharged from service at own request. The army made several requests, one even through a special requisition by the then vice chief of the army staff, but to no avail.

When approached, the High Court allowed Harjinder Singh’s petition and even ordered the release of his pension, terming the action on the part of the authorities concerned as “inexcusable”. Later, Harjinder Singh filed a contempt petition when his pension was not released despite directions from the HC.

A reply to this thereafter, submitted on behalf of the defence secretary, invited the ire of the court when it was submitted by the Ministry that the petitioner was not eligible for pension but the HC in its judgement “had allowed the petition and the respondents had, therefore, obeyed the court orders in a positive manner”.

In response to the factual statement of the petitioner that his petition had been allowed, the Ministry’s reply had called the petitioner’s averments as “vexatious, fictitious, calumnious and denied”. Further, the reply went on to state that the court “had only given two months for implementation of its orders”.
HC raps MoD over reply in pension case
Tailpiece: MoD= Monster of Deceipt. Ex Servicemen are systematically denied pension entitlements in spite of the spate of court rulings all over India. The Bureaucrats are saving the paisas by stealth and reducing the Security and Morale of its Patriotic and law abiding Citizens.