Rank Pay Arrears: Draft Implementation Order Status

06 Nov 2012.
Dear Veterans,
Jai Hind.
After clearance of the Rank Pay Case by the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, has cleared the file for payment to the affected officers. MoD has asked the Services Headquarters to prepare the “Draft Implementation Order” and sent it to the Ministry of Defence.
It is reliably learnt that the Pay Cells of the tree Services had anticipated such a letter from MoD and have a draft order ready.
As already informed to you, a senior officer of the AG’s Branch Army Headquarters is/was at Pune to discuss the information that is needed by the PCDA (O), for implementation of the order. Ways and means will be found to get such information with least trouble to the affected Army Officers.
The AG’s Branch Officer now at Pune is the son of a retired Army Officer – so he very well knows all your problems.
As regards the other two Services, Navy and Air Force, their accounts offices have all the information required for implementation of the Rank Pay Case. In case of Army Officers the problem has arisen because of a major fire in the office of PCDA (O) about a decade ago. Lot of records were destroyed in that fire.
In service of Indian Military Veterans.
Chander Kamboj
SC Judgement 4th CPC
Sir,
1. It is reliably learnt that RM has cleared the file for Implementation of the Supreme Court order of 4th Sep 2012.
2. MoD has asked Service Hqs for draft implementation orders.
WBR,
President, RDOA
What the PCDA Pune webpage says
Regarding the implementation of Hon’ble Supreme Court Order dated 04/09/2012, it is reiterated that this office has not received orders from the Government. However PCDA(O), in order to prepare itself for immediate action on receipt of Government orders, decided to approach Retired Army Officers for the information, which might be required for calculation of arrears, but is not available with this office. We realize that there is little likelihood of availability of all this info with the Retired Army Officers. Therefore we are in touch with higher authorities for formulation of the alternate means of retrieving relevant information for calculation of arrears. This office is also awaiting decision of the Government on the matter.
CDA Form for Calculating Rank Pay Arrears

Pay and Pain of the Armed Forces Personnel

Volume 29 - Issue 22 :: Nov. 03-16, 2012
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE from the publishers of THE HINDU
THE ARMED FORCES
Pay and pain
PURNIMA S. TRIPATHI
Retired and serving defence staff feel that they have been taken for a ride in the matter of salary revision and that the government has been indifferent to their protests.
SUBHAV SHUKLA/PTI

Medals surrendered by retired soldiers at a demonstration demanding “One Rank One Pension” and other welfare measures, in New Delhi on March 14, 2010.
CAN you imagine a situation wherein a major general draws a pension lower than that of a lieutenant colonel, a position that is three ranks lower in the hierarchy? Can you imagine the embarrassment of a havildar who draws a pension less than that of a sipahi, which is a much junior rank? Can you imagine the humiliation of a lieutenant general who draws almost the same pension as a colonel or a brigadier, ranks that are lower, because he has been clubbed in the same pay band? These are not hypothetical situations but real incongruities that have been created with the implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations for armed forces personnel. On July 13, the Prime Minister constituted a committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, to look into these and other anomalies in the pay structure of defence personnel vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts after the implementation of the recommendations. Significantly, the committee was made up of bureaucrats, and the government turned down the request from the three services chiefs that they be included in the committee because military concepts and nuances of rank and grade might not be understood by civilian bureaucrats.
The committee submitted its report to the government on August 8. On the basis of its recommendations, the government, on September 24, announced a Rs.2,300-crore package that would, an official release said, help bridge the gap in the pensions of those who retired before and after 2006, the cut-off year for the Sixth CPC recommendations. Besides, the government also announced an enhancement of the family pension and approved dual family pension and the continuation of family pension to mentally and physically challenged wards of defence personnel even after their marriage. But even as the government was patting itself on the back for having met the long-pending demands of defence personnel, including of “one rank one pension” (OROP), serving personnel and ex-servicemen were left seething with rage at what they saw as a betrayal. “This is peanuts. We are aghast. It meets zero aspirations of the armed forces personnel. We were apprehensive of something like this [happening] as the government had refused to include the three services chiefs in the committee. We have been taken for a ride by the government,” said Maj. Gen. (Retd) Satbir Singh, vice-chairman of the Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM).
“This country does not respect the sacrifices made by a soldier who lays down his life for the country. There is no respect for those in uniform who would not think twice before making the supreme sacrifice. This is a very unfortunate state of affairs. The government is bluffing the country and the unsuspecting soldier,” he told Frontline. According to him, the concept of “pay band”, where four or five ranks are clubbed together, is “anarchic” and should have been replaced with a rank pay concept at every level. Besides, defence personnel should be given non-functional upgradation (NFU) like their civilian counterparts (in the Indian Administrative Service), wherein if some people from a batch get promoted to the next rank, those left behind get their salary upgraded despite not being promoted.
“In the armed forces, promotions are basically about rejections as there are limited vacancies. Out of 300 colonels, only 12 become brigadiers, out of these 12, only four become major generals and only one finally makes it to the lieutenant general rank. Those left behind may be equally competent, hence should be compensated with a pay upgrade to keep them on a par with their course mates,” said Brigadiar (Retd) V.A.M. Hussain. But none of these demands was even considered by the committee though the service chiefs had put them on the agenda.
Back to the streets
To protest against the government’s “betrayal”, members of the IESM, who have taken to the streets in the past on these issues, are protesting again. On December 1, they will hold a dharna and once again return their medals. “Over 10,000 medals have been returned by the veterans in protest. The government has refused to take them back. They are still lying in our office. We will once again return these medals to the government,” Maj. Gen. (Retd) Satbir Singh said. He said that all that the government had actually done was to just nominally increase the pension of various ranks by amounts ranging from Rs.400 to Rs.1,500 a month. “The government is misleading the country by exaggerating the benefits,” he said. The IESM has written letters of protest to the Prime Minister demanding justice, with copies to the Defence Minister and the services chiefs.
The sharp reaction from the soldiers has not spurred the government into any sort of action. In fact, the blame for the mess is being shifted between the Defence Ministry and the Cabinet Secretariat. “We have nothing to do with this issue. The announcement was made by the Cabinet Secretariat, and as far as we are concerned, there is no deliberation happening at any level as of now,” a senior Defence Ministry official said. The Army’s public relations officer (PRO) confirmed that the Ministry was not in the loop on this issue as yet. “No, I have no brief on this. We are aware the announcement has caused certain serious concerns and certain issues have emerged but we are not aware whether any deliberations are taking place at any level at all,” said the Army PRO.
Apathy and indifference
Serious anomalies in the pay structure of defence personnel and problems in the implementation of pay commission recommendations have been a point of concern for armed forces personnel since the Fourth CPC was announced. Until 1973, the armed forces had a separate pay commission, and the concept of military pay was prevalent, which gave them a certain advantage over their civilian counterparts. At the time of the Fourth CPC, the armed forces pay commission was merged with the pay commission for Central government employees.
Defence personnel allege the bureaucracy manipulated the implementation of the recommendations in such a way that the status of armed forces personnel was actually degraded. In order to retain the advantage in the salary of armed forces personnel, the CPC had recommended the concept of rank pay, which is an emolument over and above basic pay and perks and which varies from Rs.200 to 1,200, depending on rank. But during implementation, instead of being increased by an amount equivalent to the rank pay, the basic salary of armed forces personnel was reduced by that amount. So even when the rank pay was added to the salary, the net result was that there was no increase in their salaries.
S. SUBRAMANIUM

AFTER GIVING UP THEIR MEDALS at the demonstration, ex-servicemen used their own blood to sign a memorandum to the President listing their demands.
Nobody seemed to have noticed the problem until Major (Retd) A.K. Dhanapalan filed and won a case in the Kerala High Court in 1996-97. As the news spread, many officers filed similar petitions across the country. On the government’s request, all the cases were shifted to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the defence personnel on March 8, 2010, and ordered the government to pay arrears with 6 per cent interest to over 20,000 retired and serving defence personnel. The government, however, sought a modification/recall of the order. In 2010-11, the case came up for hearing 10 times, but the Solicitor General failed to appear each time.
On June 7, 2012, Lt Gen. (Retd) Raj Kadyan, former Deputy Chief of the Army Staff and chairman of the IESM, met Law Minister Salman Khursheed and requested his intervention. The case was finally decided by the Supreme Court on September 4. The government pleaded inability to bear the “extra expenditure” but was reminded by the court that it was not extra expenditure but the just due of the defence personnel that had fraudulently been denied them. Then, the government requested that only litigant officers be given the arrears, which again the Supreme Court rejected, saying all affected officers should be granted the arrears. The court, however, waived the interest up to 2006. Over 20,000 officers who had inadvertently been deprived of their due benefited. “What is disturbing is that even our own organisations have failed to protect our interests,” said Major (Retd) Dhanapalan. The three services chiefs should have ensured that their personnel got their due, but that did not happen.
But what pains the defence personnel the most is that the problem the political leadership kept silent when the problems were brought to light.
“Civilian control over the armed forces is indisputable, but should the political establishment abdicate its responsibility and give the executive unbridled power?” demanded Lt Gen. (Retd) Kadyan. Lt Gen. (Retd) Kadyan and Maj. Gen. (Retd) Satbir Singh said that the strict discipline within the forces was keeping things from going out of control, but this pent-up frustration could prove risky.
The government should stop fiddling with the emotions of soldiers, said many serving armed forces personnel. The government, they warn, would do well not to mess with things like the salary, pensions and hierarchy of soldiers because for them these things are not mere fiscal matters but form an integral part of their sense of dignity. Is anybody in the government listening?
Pay and Pain of the Armed Forces Personnel

Rank Pay: CDA (O) twists in a New Format

Sunday, 28 October 2012 6:01 PM
PCDA (O) has changed the FORM today
Dear Friends,
Brig PT Gangadharan has been keeping a close watch on our Rank Pay case and the various requirements we are required to send down to CDA(O). This is latest from him. Do collect the necessary data from your service records ( I searched for it today and found that it contains a lot of info) Do pull yours out and see what you can lay your hands on.
Rgds
Niranjan Malik
From: ptgangadharan Date: 28 October 2012 16:04
Subject: PCDA (O) has changed the FORM today
Dear Sir,
PCDA (O) has again changed the FORM again today; fresh details wanted; if you go to the CDA website you will find.
I am enclosing the same New Format: Click here.
Till now this information is required by CDA(O) changes affected every day and once MOD letter comes something more will happen or required.
MOD Letter is still awaited.
Please collate your DATA and keep it ready. Maximum details are in Your Record of Service recd from AGs Branch after your retirement.
PS:- Most of you may not have all the required information. Hence try and give max available information. Archives will have all information. IN & IAF offrs may take similar action with their pay offices.
Regards,
ptgangadharan
New CDA (0) Format
New Format: Click here- Supreme Court Verdict regarding Rank Pay and related matters 09/10/2012)
Address New Completed Form to:
Senior AO. Pay Revision Cell (superscribed "Information: Hon'ble Supreme Court Judgement dated 04/09/2012")
PRINCIPAL CONTROLLER OF DEFENCE ACCOUNTS (OFFICERS)
Golibar Maidan, Pune 411 001

OROP: Letter to President

Ex-armymen write to President, PM
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Lucknow, October 16, 2012
Ex-servicemen of the state capital have approached the President with their demand of implementing ‘One Rank One Pay’ (OROP) with an immediate effect. This scheme, if implemented, means that personnel retiring at the same rank and putting in the same tenure of service gets the same pension irrespective of the year of retirement. Nearly 40 former soldiers have written to the President and the Prime Minister requesting them to clarify the government’s take on the issue to ensure a time-bound implementation of the scheme. As per the present system, exservicemen under the Sixth Pay Commission get more pension than their counterparts who have retired under previous pay commissions.
The demand comes days after UPA government’s recent Rs. 2,300- crore package for pensioners in the armed services. The ex-servicemen have expressed dissatisfaction over the package saying that even it has fallen short of their expectations.
“The pension-hike is deceptive. The government has wrongly interpreted the term OROP. They have merely made an enhancement in pension,” said Major (retd) SK Saxena, who is one among those who signed on the memorandum sent to the President. A copy has also been sent to the PM, finance minister, defence minister, leader of opposition, and chief of army staff among others.
Incidentally, a few days ago, some section of electronic media flashed that the government has accepted the demand only to be refuted by print media reports next day.
“A lot of confusion exists because of the contradictory reports in media. We request you to please ensure that OROP be implemented without any further delay,” said Col (retd) MC Papnai. Last month, Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) a pan India federation of ex- servicemen’s organisations wrote letters to PM and three service chiefs explaining how the government decision does not meet their long- pending demand to ensure equitable pensions.
“To illustrate, a sepoy, naik and havildar have been given an increase of only Rs 400 per month, whereas a sepoy who retired on January 2012 draws approximately Rs 4,000 more than those who retired prior to 2006,” the letter explains, adding that similarly disparity exists in the officer ranks too.
In all, there are 18 lakh exservicemen in the country. Of them, about 5.5 lakh, including 80,000 widows, are under the central command. In UP and Uttarakhand, the number is four lakh. In Lucknow there are nearly 20,000 ex- servicemen.
Ex-armymen write to President, PM

Rank Pay: Whither Equity, Justice and Welfare?

"It is worrying that since 2003 1,018 soldiers have committed suicide and that the ‘causes were domestic problems, mental discord, stress and financial problems"
Ref: A recipe for Disaster by Arun K. Singh- The writer, a vice-admiral, retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
Air Cmde Raghubir Singh(Retd) writes... 28/09/2012 - 02:21pm
Had the rank pay been given during late eighties we could have perhaps seen a few more smiles and earned a hug or two of our children by buying some sports goods we could ill afford at that time.What use is the devalued money which comes 25 years later when we have reached the fag end of our journey with teething troubles, poor eye sight & old age taking the toll otherwise? Six percent interest from whatever date does not interest most of us now. But what happens to those who did this' kolavri di' to an entire generation of officers lowering even their place in the Sun? Fixing every one virtually at the lower end of PB-4 has also been outsourced from the same dirty tricks deptt? Soldiers look upto the Govt for equity, justice and care and don't like to fight cases or come on streets. May be younger generation of leadership may realize it at some point of time.
We unnecessarily became victim of the Bofors gun-undoubtedly an outstanding gun of calibre which showed its mettle in the Kargil.Bigger tragedy was that its manufacturing documents for which we had paid heavily-had been gathering dust for two decades while we were hunting all over the smaller countries of the world to get 155x52 calibre gun or so. We have all the wherewithal, technology to produce arty guns & arty rockets but lure of the foreign has always come in the way. Indian Navy has excellent development programs backed by forward thinking. One of their bright officers had planned to convert old missiles into targets by modifying to supersonic regime. Dont really know if free gift of the aircraft carrier was good decision.
click here for more
Comments
The Army has no hope...
Rahul 01 Oct 2012 - 07:07
The Army has no hope. No wise Indian will join this lousy force. The Armed Forces in India is for the unemployed or people who live below Rs. 32 a day. Let any prospective candidate ask himself a simple question? Join the army for what? Protect what? Protect whom?
click here for more

Rank Pay: Unwinding the Bureaucratic Tangle

09 Oct 12
Dear Veterans,
Jai Hind.
I have received some important emails from Head of Pension Division of IESM. The emails are appended below for your information.
On behalf of you all I thank IESM in general and Pension Division of IESM in particular, for putting in all out efforts for the welfare of the veterans. Keep it up Gp Capt SS Phatak and all members of the Pension Division.
Regards
Chander Kamboj
MY third visit to CDA(O) Pune
From: Suhas Phatak
Dear All,
I visited office of CDA(O) Pune this afternoon to find out progress or otherwise on following pending issues:
1 Rank pay arrears after SC judgement
2 GOI letter dated 24 Sep 12 about further clarification on AI2/S/98.(Major's revised minimum guaranteed pension)
3 Enhancement of pension for officers.
Addl CDA(O) Pune was on leave today. I met Mr Agashe, Dy CDA and discussed Rank Pay case. As per him office of CDA(O) Pune is working out financial effect(burden) from whatever data is available which will be transmitted to higher authorities. By all estimates Govt will ask for some more time beyond three months.
Once Govt orders are issued CDA(O) will remit all arrears including gratuity, encashment leave salary difference if any directly to officers account submitted by him.
Action on point no 2 above will be taken suo moto by PCDA Allahabad by issue of Corr PPO.
Similarly PCDA Allahabad will action point no 3 by issue of Corr PPO.
It is now important that IESM Gov Body members at Delhi must find out about the progress on issue of Govt letters in question either from MOD or Law ministry etc. I am sending Form No 10E of Income Tax Act: Click here for submission as and when arrears are credited. Please examine this in detail and submit when you get arrears.
Regards,
Gp Capt Suhas Phatak(retd)

From: Suhas Phatak
Sent: 09 October 2012 18:20
To: cda-albd@nic.in
Cc: CGDA New Delhi-10
Subject: Govt letter dated 24 Sep 12
Dear Sir,
I have attached govt letter dated 24 Sep 12 which is now revising pension of Majors and equivalent ranks from IAF and Indian Navy authorizing them minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 25,700.00 wef 01 Jan 2006 in Pay Band -4. I was told by officers at CDA (O) Pune that your office will take suo moto action on this letter and issue Corr PPO in respect of all officers affected thus. This letter has not reached office of CAD(O) Pune as yet.
You are requested to confirm this and time frame for completion of this task. Second Addressee:- You are requested to clarify whether all those officers who have completed 15 years before 31 Dec 2005 in absorbed PSU/ Govt Dept / Ministry and who had opted for 100% commutation while joining such organization , will now be paid pension as per VIth Pay Commission at par with other officers of same rank and QS. This question has assumed importance with this letter and also decision of the Govt to enhance officers pension as per GOM's recommendations.

From: IESM Suhas Phatak
Sent: 09 October 2012 21:18
To: IESM
Cc: GB IESM
Subject: Points for GB Meeting on 15 Oct 2012
Dear all,
I may add some points.
A) check from min of Defence or min of Law about issue of all letters after PIB announcement.
B) letter to CGDA asking him not to pass the responsibility of payment of Arrears to Banks(PDA).
C) Letter to PCDA to prioritize issue of PPOs for Pre 2006 retirees in the order suggested earlier in one my e mails.
D) All CDAs must carry out special review of all F and F/BC PPOs for correctness of payment to widows.
E) Consult experts and take up with CBDT or Min of Fin for exemption of income tax while paying arrears of Rank Pay. Govt has shifted it's responsibility of paying interest from 01 Jan 86 to 01 Jan 2006, ie 20 years.
Regards,
Gp Capt Suhas Phatak(retd)
Comment: Further delay in Payment of Arrears should entail payment of arrears with interest from 1986 and not 2006. We need to approach the court again for extended delays.

CPC's: Military Cheated in Fixation of Basic Pay

Ref: Army faces shortage of officers
COMMENTS:

Recently there was news that in police force there is huge shortage of officers, and now army too. In country with billions of population and unemployment among educated youth its hard to understand defence ministers logic.
from: ghanshyamGhanshyam Dwivedi Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 09:25 IST

As long as the bureaucracy continues to cheat the armed forces of their legitimate rights,parents will dissuade their children from joining the Force. In a judgement given on 4th Sept, the Supreme Court found fault with the implementation of the 4th CPC and ordered a payment to all affected personnel. The so- called steps towards One Rank One Pension is actually a disguised correction to a case of cheating in the 6th CPC recommendations where retired officers have lost a considerable amount in their pension fixation. To avoid paying a large amount of arrears this correction has been made prospective. Even if the case goes to the Supreme Court the UOI will try to waive of at least the interest burden. A retired Major lost over Rs.3500/-pm due to this. This coupled with Dearness Allowance has created a loss of nearly 4 Lakhs of rupees till now. Keeping these cases in mind the parents are apprehensive of their children joining the Armed Forces as they maybe cheated in future.
from: S N IYER Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 09:48 IST <>br>

Although pay structures in the armed forces have substantially improved in recent time, the honor & dignity associated with the uniform has taken a steep downward slide over the years.Earlier even the scions of the princely states used to deem it great honour to be officers in the armed forces -while now they all want to be in politics & why not. I do recall in the mid sixties a simple letter while commanding a unit to the District Collector could elicit favourable reply to resolve an airman's problem. Will it happen now-when feeling has gone around that one has to fight it out in the to get even rank pay after 25 years legal marathon. Govt must avoid bad publicity it is getting by ex servicemen coming on streets and improve service conditions substantially & restore the protocol as it was in the fifties. Soldiers must have their place in the society. Govt can take help of Defence Institute of Psychological Research of DRDO to find out why bright young men are avoiding career in the armed forces.
from: Air Cmde Raghubir Singh Retd Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 10:28 IST

Rank Pay: CDA (O) Pune News Flash

Ref: CDA(O) Pune: News Flash

Supreme Court Verdict regarding Rank Pay and related matters and Undertaking (25/09/2012)
CDA (O) Pune Instructions and Undertaking- Click here

All reitred/ released Army officers who were in service in the rank of Capt to Brig as on 01/01/86, are requested to furnish their details in the appended format at the earliest to PCDA(O), Pune so that arrears on account of pay revision with effect from 01/01/86 in view of the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court may be credited in the bank account". (28/09/2012)
Click here for the Appended Format

Rank Pay: CDA (O) Pune Claim Application

Ref: Further to CDA (O) Pune Letter: Click here
Application to calculate Rank Pay and Pay Arrears with respect to Supreme Court Ruling

Moderator Comments
These details contained in the format be forwarded to CDA(O)Pune by concerned Officers. Along with the above details even copies of Statement of Accounts for period 1986 to 1996 in question would help in retrieving Officer Information. Till date no payment authority or instructions have been received from MOD by CDA (O) Pune. These are only advance notification for speedy tracing/ locating of information from the Archives.

Is One Rank One Pension announcement short of demand?

The Last Word: Is One Rank One Pension announcement short of demand?

Video Link; Click Here
Karan Thapar: Why has the government's decision on One Rank One Pay left retired soldiers and officers dissatisfied? at 8 PM on #CNNIBN
The alienation between the Army and the bureaucrats is an issue that is making difficult for policies like ‘one rank one pension’ to be implemented, former Chief of Army Staff Gen VP Malik said.
“I am very worried about the alienation that is taking place between the people in uniform and those in the government,” Malik said to Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN.
“There is a very strong feeling that the political leadership is not consulting the heads of services adequately on strategic issues, and not at all when it comes to financial compensation, terms and condition of service, welfare and morale,” he added.
General Malik also said that the relationship between the government and the Army “in the last few years it has gone bad to worse.”
When asked if the political management of the defense services have deteriorated under the UPA 2, Malik said, “Yes, I can say that because UPA 2 has been ruling for last few years.”

Rank Pay: CDA Pune letter to all concerned Officers

Arrears of 4th CPC wef 1/1/1986: Rank Pay Supreme Court Ruling

click on image for clarity
CDA Original Letter- Click here
1.This is for information and action by all Serving and Pensioners (of any kind) Armed Forces officers who were in service on 1/1/1986.
2. The time bound SC judgement for payment of dues to affected officers is required to be implemented by MoD, GoI and as usual, there is utter confusion in the implementing agencies as to the modelities and methodologies to be adopted. As anticipated, the basic action first will lie with CDA(o) and equivalent paymasters in Navy and AF for calculating and preparing fresh LPCs. They will have to credit dues of the retired offrs pertaining to "while in service period" into pension accounts after DEDUCTING LEVY BY Chidambaram and party (30% ?) and intimate PCDA (P) Allahabad for post retirement calculations?
3. I am placing the pdf file as above which is a scanned copy of a CDA(o) Pune letter. 4. The veterans at Pune who have visited Pune office have confirmed the chaos prevailing in AOs. The communication is a confirmation of the same. 5. It is adviseable that all affected veterans must dig into their regulation pattern BLACK STEEL TRUNKS and retrieve as many PERSONAL ACCOUNTS files as they can especially those labelled by their earstwhile accounts and PRI clerks as " Statement of Account" and "Pay and Allownces" files. 6. The Navy and Air Force collegues will be better placed then Army veterans since their PAY MASTERS are better organised. As you can see, the CDA Pune has already shifted the onus on the officers to proove and provide evidence for their dues. Anyhow wish you all a happy hunting into your archived files. please do keep an Avil tablet and bronch dialaters near by if you are allergic to dust and mouldy decaying files lying in your boxes. I tried to retrieve and had to abandon due to a severe bout of sneezing.
Brig (Dr) C P Joshi

Rank Pay: Insult over Injury

Insult over Injury
In 1986, my responsibilities to my family were beginning to peak and I was looking forward to the Pay Commission. But some nasty chaps in the Government, by a sleight of hand, denied me 1/5th of my basic pay, Rs1000/- to be precise - a lot of money those days!
I was not even aware of this treachery as I trusted the Government. Maj AK Dhanapalan saw through it (God bless him). He first, and then others, Retired Defence Officers Association (RDOA) in the forefront, fought in Courts, long and steadfast, with their money and the Government fought back, with our money, with resilience and determination, appealing perpetually against court verdicts, to do down the fellows who are all up to save them.
The Apex Court finally directed to pay all those affected, the arrears with 6% interest from 01 Jan 1986 onwards. The Government pleaded that it is poor (it has to be, after all these scams) and the Court waived off interest for the first 20 years!
It is not possible to compensate for the lost opportunities of our families but payment of the interest would, at least, have been a token recognition of the wrongs done to us, some compensation for our deprivations and humiliations, particularly when it was not due to a mistake. It was not even mere mischief. It was treachery, born out of arrogance and assurance of impunity. The very least that should have been done was to treat the amount due as a recurring deposit, the maturity amount reinvested at Postal rates, periodically. Therefore, the Court was benevolent to impose only 6% of interest to start with, but the crocodile tears of the Government made it deprived us, the victims, 20 years (no less!) of the already low interest!
Further, the initiating culprit should have been ordered to be identified and he, along with all the superiors who dealt with and finalized ‘the stab in the back’ to the people who protect the Country (them included) at the cost of their lives, to be punished.
What sort of justice is this? The perpetrators of the crime and their protectors not only go scot free but also evoke sympathy of the court! We, the sufferers, having waited for decades, are now left down in the ditch. All those criminals must be caught, their pay or pensions should be forfeited and if necessary their properties should be confiscated to pay us, the fair amount.
But that is ‘day dreaming’ or is it ‘crying in the wilderness’? What can you expect from this bunch? Now, if I cheat the Government and get caught, I should be able to plead for reduction in payment, of at least the penalty amount, as paying that much money would hurt me terribly. A precedent has been set. Applicability should be universal.
Col BN Ratha(Retd)

Armed Forces win Battle in Supreme Court: Reactions

Ref: Rank Pay- AF win battle in Supreme Court
Comments

Baba Tiruvalam 1 week ago
While one is happy that the finally justice has been given to the serving and retired officers, it is sad that some people had to wait for over 25 years to get this justice. It is pertinent to point out that in the meantime many who were waiting passed away and were cheated out of their legitimate dues. It was not any thing to do with legal interpretation. It was mere arithmetic interpretation. Even if a mistake was committed at some level in 1987 when this was being implemented, why was the Govt reluctant to correct the mistake when it was pointed out during Maj Dhanapalan's case until relief was given to him by Kerala High Court initially and then the Supreme Court subsequently when the Govt appealed against the decision of the Kerala High Court. Subsequently also they had resisted extending the benefit to similarly affected officers. It took 5 long years and several hearings at the Supreme Court to reach the verdict given today. All along the Govt machinery including the MOD and the Law ministry did not see the wisdom in withdrawing their appeal gracefully. At-least now will the Government show graceful acceptance of the verdict and pay the arrears as ordered before some more of the affected officers kick the bucket?

The Patriot
It is unfortunate that in a democracy like ours the armed forces are being treated like this. They remain the last and only institution left that the nation can depend on in a crisis. The recent happenings in the Army are a clear indication that all is not well with the armed forces too. One wishes that the babus and politicos keep off the armed forces. The recent amendment to the constitution giving reservation in promotions is a further blow to the very secular foundation of this country, just imagine babus promoted thus exercising control over the armed forces, like they say-vinasha kale , viperetha budhi!

freudneo1 week ago
To grant a benefit of just 1500 crores to its armed forces... govt fights for 20 years ! n themselves siphons off thousands of crores in just two years ! Wow... what a democracy we are living in!

Bidyut Chatterjee
The Judgement did make us happy,but we would be happier still, if the bureaucracy and the lower babus were penalised for feeding the Courts with wrong and misinformation. 50% of their pay and allowances should have been deducted to compensate for the delayed justice which was only because of them. This would partly meet the cost involved to implement the Judgement.
Armed Forces win long outstanding battle inSupreme Court

Armed forces’ pay fixation: Govt may accept 4 demands

Armed forces’ pay fixation: Govt may accept 4 demands
Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 16
The government is keen to accept at least four of the armed forces’ demands on fixation of their pay and pension. The high-powered committee set up by PM Manmohan Singh has given its ideas wherein it has accepted that some of the demands of the forces need to be met immediately as there are glaring anomalies, sources said.
Sources said the committee has recommended that the armed forces be given non-functional upgradation (NFU) to match their counterparts in the IPS, IAS and paramilitary forces.
The grade pay is another issue, the committee has suggested, can be looked into. Thirdly, it has agreed that a common payscale be evolved for in-service jawans. Lastly, it has agreed on removal of all anomalies towards one rank one pension (OROP).
Meanwhile, a fresh calculation has been ordered following a Supreme Court judgment relating to a 25-year-old pay-related case filed by Major Dhanapalan. The court ruled in his favour to correct the anomaly and will impact all officers who were serving then and now.
This had to be factored in before a final announcement. The PM can still make changes as Defence Minister AK Antony was very keen on resolving matters at the earliest and in favour of the forces.
The committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth was formed following an intervention from PM Manmohan Singh on July 8 this year.
The forces protested that they had no representative; the committee specially met the three service chiefs. Its mandate was to deal with six issues of serving officers and jawans and another four issues relating to those who retired.
Sources said the committee was unanimous on payscale for jawans, OROP, grade pay and NFU. The most serious was the NFU issue. The Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations were out in October 2008. The IAS in the post of Joint Secretary (JS) to the Government of India was made eligible for a grade pay of Rs 10,000 a month on completing 22 years of service.
WHAT THE HIGH-POWERED PANEL SAYS

Armed forces be given non-functional upgrade to match their counterparts in the IPS, IAS and paramilitary forces

Grade pay can be looked into

A Common payscale be evolved for in-service jawans

Anomalies be removed towards one rank-one pension
Armed forces’ pay fixation: Govt may accept 4 demands
Comment: One hopes and prays that the Government does not collapse before implementing these recommendations. The FM is very shrewd! We need to wait and watch.

No Military representation on the High Powered Committee

Government not to allow defence representatives in pay panel, say sources
August 5, 2012
Government not to allow defence representatives in pay panel, say sources
New Delhi: The government has reportedly refused to accept the demand of the armed forces to allow military representation on the High Powered Committee, which has been formed to resolve the anomalies in the pension and benefits for the defence personnel.
Top sources at the Centre have told NDTV that the government cannot agree to the demand as the panel was formed during the sixth pay commission and now it’s a little too late to allow defence representatives on board. The Prime Minister is expected to make an announcement on the issue in his Independence Day speech on August 15. The sources added that the panel, which was formed by the Prime Minister, will have to address the concerns of the armed forces in the way issues were handled during the sixth pay commission.
Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma had reportedly written to Defence Minister AK Antony last week, objecting to the panel headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
Source: NDTV
Comment: Maybe the Government is right. Senior Officers from AHQ are only interested in their own pay and perks. The representation should be from Senior JCOs and NCOs to directly interact with the Cabinet Committee. Senior Officers credibility is diminishing day by day. Previous track record from 1986 till 2006 is proof of their standing. Corrupt Generals cannot influence or impact any improvement in pay package for the Military.
Government not to allow defence representatives in pay panel, say sources
Ministry of Defence
One Rank-One Pension The gap between past pensioners and their youger equivalents retiring from the armed forces does not necessarily keeps widening with every successive pay commission. Over the years several improvements have been made in pension of past pensioners. The pension of past pensioners have revised in accordance with recommendation of each successive Pay Commission, as accepted by the Government. The Sixth Pay Commission had recommended fitment formula and modified parity for past pensioners, in order to reduce the gaps, which were accepted by the Government.
Pension Improvement is an ongoing process and considerable improvements have been made in the pensions of armed forces personnel. The Group of Ministers (GoM) had in 2005 improved the pensionary benefits of PBORs. On the recommendations of PMO, a Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary in June, 2009 to look into the issue of ‘One Rank One Pension and other related matters. After considering all aspects of the matter, the Committee keeping in mind the spirit of the demand, suggested several measures to substantially improve pensionary benefits of Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) and Commissioned Officers, which have been accepted by the Government and orders for implementation of all the recommendations have been issued. These are available at www.pcdapension.nic.in.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM PallamRaju in a written reply to Dr.RajanSushantand others in LokSabha today.PIB
One Rank One Pension

Army Pay Scales: Genesis of the continuing Downgrade

Sixth CPC Report:(vii) Army Pay Scales (1)
Chapter 2.3 of the Report briefly recaptures the historical developments in reference to determination of pay structure for the Armed Forces, starting from constitution of the Post War Pay Committee in 1947 which for the first time attempted to establish relative parameters in reference to Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Central Class I Services but also brought down the pay scales of many Indian Commissioned Officers. The Government subsequently modified pay structure for Armed Forces in 1960 when the Raghuramaiya Committee endorssed the concept of parity with the above referred services as conceived earlier.
The pay structure for Army was for the first time referred to Central Pay Commission (CPC) at the time of Third CPC which recommended merger of the Special Disturbance Allowance (being paid to army personnel since 1950 as a temporary compensatory measure) with the pay, there by making the pay structure for Army slightly better than civilian pay scales. The Fourth CPC accepted the demand for running pay bands and rank pay up to the scale of Brigadier, but the structure was subsequently realtered by Fifth CPC which gave scales on pattern of civilian establishment to the Armed Forces with a slight edge due to difficult working conditions. The recommendations of Fifth CPC which form the basis for existing pay structure are reflected below.

The Sixth CPC has recmmended restoration of Running Pay Bands on the ground that similar structure is now recommended for Civil Services and the possibility of disparity on that account is ruled out. Another important benefit is that this measure would facilitate smoother absorption of ths Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) and Personnel below Officer’ Ranks (PBORs) in Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMFs) by identification of analogous posts in the two structures (eg Major and Deputy Commandant in Army and CRPF). It has however added a new component to the salary of armymen under the title of Military Service Pay(MSP) which would be admissible to all ranks upto Brigadier.
The Commission foresees that the MSP shall ensure that the edge enjoyed by the army pay structure vis a vis the pay scales for civilian employees continues. MSP shall be counted as pay for all practical purposes. Although MSP shall not be admissible beyond the rank of Brigadier yet the edge provided by MSP shall continue at subsequent stages since it would be embedded in the pay at subsequent fitment stage. However for purposes of determination of comparative seniority the indicator shall be the grade pay. MSP being a new addition to pay, arrears would not be payable for the past. The Pay Structure as recommended by Sixth CPC is as follows.

Some other major recommendations relate to upgradtion of Scale of pay admissible to Director General of Armed Forces Medical Service to Rs.80000/-(fixed) and the decision to allow the non functional scale of Army Commander to Lt. Generals who do not get the post due to age bar. Similar benefit has been recommended for ofiicers of other ranks who are similarily deprived of promotion due to shortage of tenure. Commsision has however not agreed to increase the scales for Principal Staff Officers posted at Army HQs on the ground that this would affect the relativity with Corps Commanders operating in the field.
Commission has also recommended continuation of existing higher entry grade pay to Lieutant in Army Medical Corps (AMC) as compared to Lieutant in the Army. Higher pay to the extent of 7.5% for Lieutant and 10% for the Captain has been recommened. Regarding Military Nursing Services (MNS) the recommendation is for maintainig parity with the Service cadre Officers. Extension of time bound promotion scheme upto level of Lt. Col. has been recommended for the Officers of MNS and MSP to the extent of Rs.4200/- has also been recommended alongwith benefit of one pay fixation increment at the stage of promotion .The Pay Scales recommended for MNS are given below.

Sixth CPC Report:(vii) Army Pay Scales (1)
Related Reading: Pay scales of the Indian Armed Forces: Click here
Comment: In spite of the slide down of Military Pay Scales, why has the Rank Pay been denied for the last 26 years? This may require a detailed analysis to fix responsibility. The COAS from 1986 till 2008 are equally responsible. Military is apolitical does this mean they are dummies and should kowtow the corrupt system? The seniors on whom one reposes faith are the ones who let down the organisation for their own perks and salaries- own selfish interest. The AHQ is filled with such scumbags- imagine the Army Chief being posted in AHQ for the 12th time! His interests ly elsewhere not welfare of troops. Damn Chetwode Motto!

Rank Pay Litigation: MOD is the Culprit to Recall Court Rulings Repeatedly

Re-fix Defence officers’ pay: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court directed the Centre on Tuesday to re-fix the pay of about 20,000 Defence officers from January 1, 1986, without deducting the rank pay and to pay them arrears.
A three-judge Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, T.S. Thakur and Anil R. Dave also directed the Centre to pay six per cent interest from January 1, 2006 to all the officers, irrespective of whether they had filed petitions before any of the High Courts or Benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal, within 12 weeks from Tuesday.
The Bench directed that all pending petitions before High Courts or Benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal by similarly placed officers would be governed by this order. The Bench rejected the Centre’s application seeking the recall the order of the Kerala High Court, which in October 1998 found no justification in deducting the rank pay and directed the Centre to re-fix the pay.
The core issue is the wrong fixation of rank pay awarded by the Fourth Pay Commission. The element of rank pay was introduced for all ranks from Captain to Brigadier in the Army and their equivalent ranks in the Air Force and the Navy, in addition to pay in the integrated scale. The rationale behind this was to make the Armed Forces an attractive career option and ensure that the defence officers continued to have an edge vis-à-vis their civilian counterparts, keeping in mind the difficult and challenging nature of their job. However, according to the officers, the rank pay was first deducted at the time of fixation to arrive at the total emoluments and thereafter added, after fixation, in the integrated scale. Consequently, the final fixation of the total pay of the officer became on a par with his civilian counterpart’s and the edge was neutralised.
Major A.K. Dhanapalan was the first officer to challenge this erroneous fixation before the Kerala High Court. Thereafter, several petitions were filed by similarly placed officers in High Courts and before different benches of the Armed Forces Tribunal.
After the High Court judgment, the Armed Forces and the Chiefs of Staff Committee had recommended against pursuing the litigation further in the Supreme Court. However, the Ministry of Defence chose to press the application for recall on several grounds, including a total financial liability of about Rs. 1600 crores.
Re-fix Defence officers’ pay: Supreme Court

Rank Pay liable since the Pay Commission came into force in 1986

Pay rank pay liable since ’86 to armed forces: SC to Govt
TUESDAY, 04 SEPTEMBER 2012 23:22 PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | NEW DELHI
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to re-fix the pay of defence personnel retrospectively from January 1, 1986 including the component of rank pay that was wrongly denied to them since the Fourth Pay Commission.
A three-judge bench of Justices RM Lodha, TS Thakur and AR Dave directed the Centre to pay the rank pay liable since the Pay Commission came into force in 1986. In abiding by the court order, the exchequer could face a financial liability of close to `1,500 crore as the court even asked the Centre to award annual interest of six per cent to be calculated from January 1, 2006. This order would apply to roughly 20,000 officers of the Army, Navy or Air Force, both serving and retired, irrespective of whether they filed petition in court or the Armed Forces Tribunal. The court even fixed a time-period of 12 weeks for the Centre to comply with its order.
The order is sure to boost the morale of the defence forces, who were denied the rank pay despite being entitled for it since 1986. The matter was first raised by Major AK Dhanpalan before the Kerala High Court, which detected the anomaly and found no justification with the Centre’s decision to deduct the rank pay. The rank pay, as the name suggested, was a sum fixed for each rank beginning from Captain to Brigadier, and the corresponding ranks in the Navy and Air Force. For Captain, an additional amount of `200 would get added to his monthly income as rank pay, it followed an ascending order as per the ascension in rank. For instance, Major rank officer was to get `600, Lt Col and Colonel to get `800 and Brigadier to get `1200 per month.
With Dhanpalan’s case serving as the basis, several officers approached the High Court, causing the matter to come up till the Supreme Court which too decided in favour of the defence forces through its order of March 8, 2010. The court not only directed re-fixation of pay from January 1, 1986 but burdened the Centre with six per cent interest from that date onwards. For this reason, the Centre moved an application seeking recall of the order.
Solicitor General RF Nariman impressed upon the bench that granting rank pay with interest would cause a huge financial burden on the Government. But the court went by the purpose behind the rank pay provision that was to encourage persons to join the Armed Forces and provide parity in their salaries with their civilian counterparts. The denial of the same was seen by the court and by the defence officers as ill-treatment of armed forces by bureaucrats.
The Retired Defence Service officers, who were represented by senior advocate Mahabir Singh, Aishwarya Bhati and BB Trikha, informed the court that the Defence Ministry had pursued the application to modify the March 8, 2010 order despite opposition from the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the three Service chiefs.
Pay rank pay liable since ’86 to armed forces: SC to Govt

Rank Pay: NDTV Special Report

Armed Forces win long standing pay battle in Supreme Court
Written by Nitin Gokhale, Edited by Abhinav Bhatt | Updated: September 04, 2012 20:27 IST
New Delhi: The armed forces won a landmark victory in their long standing battle to get an anomaly in fixation of pay scales for commissioned officers noticed in the 4th Pay Commission.
The Supreme Court today ordered payment of rank pay arrears to all affected officers estimated to number over 20,000 with effect from January 1, 1986.
The government had been told the pay the arrears within 12 weeks. According to sources, the total outgo to government in making this payment will be over Rs. 1500 crore.
Military lawyers told NDTV that historically the most important litigation involving the military has culminated today.
The Supreme Court decided not to interfere in its earlier decision granting the cumulative benefits and arrears of Rank Pay with effect from 01-01-1986 to all affected officers.
It said the benefits shall be released to all officers irrespective of whether they had approached a judicial forum or not.
According to Major Navdeep Singh who specialises in military cases, this matter was carried over from the 4th Central Pay Commission (CPC) when an integrated pay scale of Rs. 2300-5100 was implemented for officers from the rank of 2/Lieutenant to Brigadier. In addition, rank pay was authorised to officers from the rank of Captain to Brigadier ranging from Rs. 200 to 1200 which was to be added into the basic pay for all intents and purposes.
However, while fixing the pay in the new scales, an amount equal to the rank pay was deducted from the emoluments resulting in financial loss to all affected officers. Hence all officers holding the rank of Captain to Brigadier as on 01-01-1986 suffered cumulative losses, Major Navdeep Singh says. The Kerala High Court in a case filed by Major AK Dhanapalan had termed illegal this deduction of rank pay.
Soon thereafter, many similar petitions were filed in various High Courts all over the country which were clubbed together and transferred to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had on March 8, 2010, upheld the Kerala High Court verdict and granted relief to all similarly placed officers.
Things were, however, not to end there since the government constituted a committee to look into the amount involved and went back to the Supreme Court by filing an application for recall of the order dated March 8, 2010 on the grounds that the monetary outgo will be a big burden on the exchequer and also stating therein that many more issues on the subject were not taken into consideration by the Court and hence the order needed to be recalled, Major Navdeep explained.
The biggest credit, he says should go to Retired Defence Officers' Association (RDOA) who had been unflinchingly following up the matter with great zeal in a very objective and balanced manner.
Armed Forces win long standing pay battle in Supreme Court

Rank Pay: RDOA Rides High: Supreme Court Confirms its 2010 Order

REPORT MY SIGNAL
GREAT NEWS FOR ALL RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS - WE HAVE WON THE RANK PAY CASE IN SUPREME COURT
HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS
IN PARTICULAR TO THE RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
WHO HAVE FINALLY WON THE CASE OF RANK PAY IN SUPREME COURT ON 04 SEP 2012.

THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL NOT TO ALLOW THE CASE. AND THEN TO ALLOW RANK PAY ONLY TO THOSE WHO WERE PART OF THE RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.

LT COL BK SHARMA, CHAIRMAN RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AND HIS ABLE LAWYER AGAIN ARGUED VERY STRONGLY AND GOT THE RANK PAY CASE APPROVED FOR ALL RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS, WHETHER MEMBER OF THE RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OR NOT.

GOVERNMENT HAS TO PAY ALL ARREARS WITHIN 12 WEEKS OF PASSING THE ORDER.
INTEREST ON ARREARS WILL BE PAID WITH EFFECT FROM 01 JAN 2006 AND NOT FROM 01 JAN 1986 AS SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

IT IS A GREAT JOB DONE BY LT COL BK SHARMA, CHAIRMAN RETIRED DEFENCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AND HIS ENTIRE TEAM OF THE ASSOCIATION.

ON BEHALF OF YOU ALL I CONGRATULATE LT COL BK SHARMA AND HIS ENTIRE TEAM FOR HAVING WON THIS CASE INSPITE OF THE BABUS TRYING THEIR LEVEL BEST TO DEFEAT US AND EMPLOYING UNFAIR MEANS.

FURTHER DETAILS WILL FOLLOW AFTER COPY OF THE COURT ORDER IS RECEIVED.
SATYAMEV JAITE
EMAIL ID OF LT COL BK SHARMA IS - beekay_sharma49@yahoo.co.in
I am sure you will give this information widest possible publicity.
In service of the Retired Personnel of All Ranks of the Armed Forces of India
Chander Kamboj