Age Row: SC questions govt order, adjourns case till Feb 10, 2012

Age Row: SC questions govt order, adjourns case till Feb 10
Feb 3, 2012
Army Chief Gen VK Singh seems to have won the first round in the legal battle on the age row with the Supreme Court today saying the manner in which his statutory complaint was rejected by the Government “appears to be vitiated”.
Posting the matter for hearing on February 10, the court sought to know whether the Government would like to withdraw its December 30, 2011 order.
Defence Minister A K Antony had issued an order on December 30 turning down the statutory complaint of Gen Singh that his date of birth be treated in Army’s records as May 10, 1951 and not as May 10, 1950.
Posing questions to the Government, the bench of Justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale was of the view that the Defence Ministry’s order of July 21, 2011 holding the date of birth as May 10, 1950 was based on the opinion of Attorney General and so was the case when the December 30 order was passed on the statutory complaint.
After the court asked whether the Government would like to withdraw the December 30 order, Attorney general GE Vahanvati said he will seek instruction from the government on the issue.
The court said there were other remedies available for Gen Singh if the government withdraws its December 30 order.
It said in that case Gen Singh’s statutory complaint against July 21 order can be reconsidered by the authorities and there was also an option for him to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal.
During the hearing, the bench observed that when it was held that Gen Singh’s complaint was not maintainable, the only remedy he had was to approach the apex court.
From the outset, the bench questioned the decision-making process of the government.
“We are not concerned as much with the decision but we are concerned with the decision-making process which is vitiated as the July 21 order was also based on the consideration of opinion given by the Attorney General and when the statutory complaint of the Army Chief was decided on December 30, there also Attorney General’s opinion was taken into consideration,” the Bench observed.
The bench further said, “The material on record will not withstand the test of principle of natural justice and principle of ultra vires.”
The Attoreny General and the Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman defended the government action and said on the facts no prejudice is caused to Gen Singh.
Reacting to the court order, one of Gen Singh’s counsel Punit Bali said they were definitely happy with the order but would not go into the merits of the case since it is sub judice.
He said the main question raised by the court was can the authority which rejected the General’s statutory complaint base its decision on the advice of the Attorney General who had earlier advised the Government to come to a conclusion in its July 21 order.
Telling the media not to read too much, Bali said it is normal procedure for courts to raise queries.
While the Attorney General was defending his action in giving opinion, the bench said “we are more concerned about Constitutional principles–whether this order of December 30 stands the test of constitutional principle of natural justice and principle of ultra vires.
It also asked the AG whether the government wants to withdraw the December 30 order.
“Be clear whether you want to withdraw this December 30 order,” it said.
To this the Attorney General replied, “I will take instructions.”
“You take your position about this order,” the court told him.
The bench also asked the government as to why should the matter be not brought to an end.
While suggestions were being made that Gen Singh can also approach the Armed Force Tribunal, the bench said, only four months are left for him to retire and it is probably not the best remedy.
The bench also said that though the tribunal is headed by its retired judge, there are also members who come from the services and there is a possibility that they could either be junior or senior to Gen Singh at some point of time. PTI
Age Row: SC questions govt order, adjourns case till Feb 10

Veteran Welfare- Are we being cheated and then dishonoured?

Supreme Court Recalls ITS Directions to MoD in Pushpavanti Case
The Supreme Court has recalled its order given on 15 November last year in which it had directed MoD to set up a Commission to look into the grievances of serving and former soldiers of the Armed Forces. In the same order, the Apex Court had made a mention of Smt Pushpa Vanti’s case, a widow whose husband was an Army Major. The petitioner Smt Pushpa Vanti had claimed that she was getting only a meager amount of Rs.80/- per month as pension since the death of her husband in 1967 and her pension had not been revised since then. In the said order, the Supreme Court also alluded to the discontent among the serving and former members Armed Forces and their widows and family member regarding their service condition i.e. Pay Scales, anomalies regarding pension, inadequate pension etc. and directed the Central Government to set up a Commission called Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission to look into the grievances of serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their dependents.

Subsequently, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of MoD verified the facts regarding actual pension drawn by Smt Pushpa Vanti and also considered the implications of setting up of such a Commission given the fact that an elaborate mechanism for welfare and resettlement of Ex-servicemen and their dependent already exists under the aegis of Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare.

On verification of facts it was found that Smt Pushpa Vanti is actually drawing a family pension of Rs.16360 and not Rs.80/- as incorrectly represented before the Apex Court. The factual position was brought before the Supreme Court on 05 July 2011 by the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare through the Solicitor General of India who also submitted before the Supreme Court that for looking after the welfare and resettlement of Ex-servicemen a comprehensive mechanism is already in place.

Following this, the Supreme Court recalled its order given on 15 November 2010. SK/ (Release ID :73300)
Supreme Court Recalls ITS Directions to MoD in Pushpavanti Case
The truth is bitter to swallow
Armed Forces Tribunal Orders are mostly defied; click here
Grievances of veterans have been ignored for years even when the Supreme Court has issued favourable judgments- click here

Veteran Woes
Things have come to a dangerous pass.
Appalling already was the scheme of events in our nation, with veterans and the government in a logjam and protests related to pensionary anomalies reaching the streets.
As most of us know, the Supreme Court had recently recalled its orders related to the constitution of the Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission. What follows is this official press release by the Ministry of Defence almost celebrating the recalling of the orders, commemorating the victory of the Ministry of Defence over veterans and stating that the poor widow in the case had ‘incorrectly represented’ facts before the Court, while actually there was no such observation of ‘incorrect representation’ by the Hon’ble Apex Court itself in its orders.
Does an official press release such as this behove a government agency? Is the recalling of a judicial order official-news material, if that be so, then all departments should regularly issue press releases every single day on the hundreds of cases decided daily involving them, this way or that way.
While on the surface, this press release may seem to be innocuous, but lying beneath is a thought process that is thoroughly and distastefully disgusting – the thought process that defence veterans are adversaries of the MoD. It is an MoD Vs Veterans state of mind. Otherwise, why would there be a celebratory official PIB press release on the recalling of an order that was so dear to the hearts of the defence community ? Can this be expected in any developed democracy ? Can we imagine the Department of Defence of the US or the Ministry of Defence of the UK issuing a press release celebrating the recalling of a Court order favouring veterans?
Click here to read full article of Maj Navdeep Singh: Sad Sign of the Times!

Republic Day in New Delhi

India's 59th Republic Day Parade

When: 26 Jan 2008 (annual)

Where: Delhi

Route: Raisina Hill, along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort.

Chief Guest: Sarkozy

Every year on 26 January the founding of the independent Republic is remembered throughout India. In New Delhi the spectacular celebrations include the march past of the three armed forces, massive parades and traditional folk dances, music from all over India and an Air Force fly-by. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute.

Although independence from British rule was actually gained on 15 August 1947 - an occasion marked by the Independence Day celebrations every year - the establishment of the Republic actually has its roots in the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress at midnight of 31 December 1929 & 01 January 1930. During the session the tri-colour flag was unfurled by the nationalists and a pledge taken that every year, on 26 January, Independence Day would be celebrated. This declaration of the spirit of independence became reality when the Constitution of India framed by the Constituent Assembly of India came into force on 26 January 1950.

Celebrations, though on a much smaller scale, are also held in state capitals, where the governor of the state unfurls the national flag. If the Governor of the state is unavailable for some reason, the Chief Minister of the state assumes the honor of unfurling the National Flag of India.

Note: Photograph taken on 26 Jan 2007