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: RDOA Felicitates the Legal Team

FELICITATIONS: LEGAL TEAM IV CPC RANK PAY CASE: 30 SEPT 12

The legal team which was instrumental in getting the Armed Forces officers their legitimate dues in the landmark and historic judgment given by the Supreme Court on 04 Sept 2012, pertaining to the IV CPC Rank Pay case was felicitated on 30 Sept 2012 at DSOI Dhaula Kuan by Retired Defence Officers Association (RDOA). Over a hundred officers were present.
The function commenced with the Col Satwant Singh, Secretary RDOA, welcoming the guest present in the meeting. Col Satwant Singh, explained the sequence of the case and read out the operative part of the judgments, issued by various Courts as under –

The Single Judge Order passed in the case of Maj AK Dhanapalan.

The Supreme Court Order Passed in favour of RDOA on 08 Mar 2010.

Subsequent appeal filed by the Union of India against the case.

The Supreme Court Order of 04 Sep 12, dismissing the appeal of Union of India.
The said order will be applicable to all affected officers of the Armed Forces with effect from 01 Jan 1986 to 01 Jan 2006. It would also be applicable to all pending cases in various courts and AFT’s across the country on the subject case.
The interest will be applicable @ 6% wef 01/01/2006 and not 1986. This is the only change made by the apex court. The court has also directed that all arrears should be paid within outer limit of 3 months from the date of the order, 04 Sept 2012.
It was explained by the Secretary RDOA as to how the pay/pension would be revised with the cascading affect from 1/1/86 (IV CPC), 1/1/96 (VCPC), 1/1/2006 (VI CPC). To this affect the commitment made by the UOI on an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court with financial implications of 1623 crores was also read out to the members.
After the Secretary RDOA finished his talk, Col BK Sharma, President of RDOA, welcoming the guests, who had arrived by then, and members said that it was a proud moment in the history of the Armed forces, where a few have mustered strength to fight for the majority and seek a judgment which will benefit all officers of the three Services, holding any rank from Capt to Brig (and equivalent) on 01 Jan 1986.
The President then formally welcomed the guests, Senior Advocate Mahabir Singh and Advocates on Record Gp Capt KS Bhati and Mrs Aishwarya Bhati. A brief introduction of each of the guests highlighting their achievements and contribution to the case was given to the members. The guests were presented bouquets on behalf of all members of RDOA.
As a token of their commitment and unflinching support to the cause of Ex Servicemen, each of the guests were honoured with an ‘Honorarium’ amount in the form of cheque; which is nothing as compared to the Services rendered and the legal fees charged by them. As a reciprocate gesture, Senior Advocate Mahabir Singh donated Rs 50000/- to the corpus of RDOA.
Advocate on Record Gp Capt KS Bhati requested all officers to make RDOA strong and the nodal agency to fight and stand for securing denied benefits to the veteran fraternity.
Col Sharma also welcomed out station officers Lt General VK Oberoi, Air Marshal Savur, Maj’s NS Gill & Sadana. Speaking on the occasion Air Marshal Savur was delighted at the ‘Perseverance and Gusto’ of the RDOA team in getting the judgment. He came all the way from Bangalore to attend the felicitation.

Lt General Oberoi was appreciative at the ‘Resoluteness’ and brain power shown by RDOA and the legal luminaries.
Appreciations and thanks giving were also given by Cdr Ahuja on behalf of Naval Foundation, Delhi Chapter since Admiral Harinder Singh was out of the country. It would be pertinent to mention that Admiral Harinder gave his complete unconditional support for the case from day one and was always supportive of actions taken by RDOA.
Col Kirit Joshipura, Executive Member IESM, on behalf of IESM, applauded the efforts of RDOA in getting the judgment for the benefit of all the Armed forces officers.
Thanks Giving
Team RDOA wishes to thank all its members in supporting it for the ‘cause’ and for all the congratulatory messages sent/expressed on phone/email.
Team RDOA also wants to thank all others who are not members of RDOA, yet have applauded their efforts and achievements.
The felicitations culminated with a contributory lunch.
Next the battle for implementation instructions of the Court order begins.
SECY RDOA

Tatra scam: 'Govt imposed deal on the Army'

Source: Pradip R Sagar & Saikat Datta  
New Delhi: Union Defence Minister AK Antony is either unaware of the defence audit wing’s warnings against the outdated and overpriced Tatra trucks or he is feigning ignorance.
In fact, the audit wing, which comes under the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), found in 2006 that orders for Tatra trucks were placed after considerable manipulation “to keep the production line of BEML alive”.
If Antony was to go through the files, he would have noticed the several audit findings that point out Tatra trucks were imposed on the Army many a time.
Of course, it would be unfair to pin the entire blame on Antony. Several army officers, too, ensured that the racket kept rolling ever since the first truck was purchased in 1986. Some of them or maybe all those involved will have to answer the CBI in the coming days.
Of the various audit findings, DNA found one buried in the files of the Master General of Ordnance (MGO) and the War Establishment (WE) — the two directorates in the army headquarters responsible for all procurements.
In 2006, the defence audit wing audited the performance of the army’s vehicle management. S Kalyanraman, a senior audit officer in the wing, chanced upon a transaction with several anomalies in connection with the purchase of Tatra trucks. In a query note, accessed by DNA, to the army headquarters, he pointed out these discrepancies.
The infantry — the largest and most potent combat arm of the Indian Army — Kalyanraman noted in his query, needed high-mobility vehicles to rush troops to the front during war.
Based on its experience in the Kargil war in 1999 and during Operation Parakram in 2002, the army issued a fresh set of parameters for buying trucks (six-wheel drive trucks under GSQR 486). And three firms, BEML with its Tatra trucks, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, were shortlisted.
Strangely, BEML made it to the list with the Tatra T-815, a four-wheel drive truck. Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland were running six-wheel drive trucks on trial when the list was prepared.
"Subsequently the LPTA 1621 truck of Tata Motors qualified for induction in the army because the firm had carried out the suggested modifications successfully and it was approved by VRDE", Kalyanraman said in his note.
But inexplicable changes followed and an order for 490 trucks were placed with BEML in March 2006 at an estimated cost of Rs254.54. Kalyanraman's audit investigation revealed that the order went to BEML after "secretary (defence production) strongly recommended" the public sector unit to the then defence secretary and the then vice-chief of the army.
Shekhar Dutt was the defence secretary then. He is now the governor of Chhatisgarh. Considered close to the senior Congress leadership, Dutt received several assignments after retirement.
The defence ministry justified the switch by changing the parameters. It used a GSQR meant for some other truck to push the deal in favour of BEML. All this was done "to keep the production line of BEML alive".
Last year, too, the CAG reported negatively against BEML and Tatra. The CBI, a source said, will use these reports as evidence in its investigation into the Tatra scam.
The audit report (No. 24 of 2011-12) on defence services noted: "The increase of Rs352 crore under heavy and medium vehicles was mainly due to… additional requirement of funds for the new scheme (HMV Tatra Quantity 788)".
At least Rs314.85 crore was paid as advance for contracts that were hastily pushed through in March 2010 "for Tatra vehicles". But "no benefit could be achieved" and there was a case of "over-booking".
Once General VK Singh took over as the army chief, he refused to authorise a purchase of Tatra trucks, following a "bribe offer of Rs 14 crore". The general has accused Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh of making the bribe offer. The CBI is investigating the matter.
But the fact is Kalyanraman's audit findings were buried under files and a scam was allowed to flourish for several years.
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-tatra-scam-govt-did-impose-deal-on-the-army-3208856.html?RHS-top_news=
Tatra row grounds PC chopper plan  by NISHIT DHOLABHAI 
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120505/jsp/nation/story_15454108.jsp

Corrupt babus want protection from law enforcing agencies

Adarsh scam: Maharashtra bureaucrats seek protection
The writer has posted comments on this article Prafulla Marapakwar, TNN | Apr 20, 2012, 02.57AM IST
MUMBAI: Left anxious by the Adarsh housing society scam and the course of the investigation into it, top bureaucrats have urged the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to introduce a mechanism whereby law enforcement agencies have to first seek the permission of higher authorities before taking action against a civil servant.
Last week, chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad along with senior office bearers of the IAS association-including finance secretary Sudhir Shrivastav, forest secretary Pravinsinh Pardesi, revenue secretary Swadhin Kshatriya and CM's principal secretary A K Jain-called on the chief minister. During the meeting, Chavan was asked to take steps to restore the confidence of the bureaucracy, which has ebbed in the wake of the Adarsh scam.
"Our contention in the meeting was that those bureaucrats who took decisions in the interest of the state should be protected. At the same time, we made it clear that we are not asking for errant babus, who took decisions with mala fide decisions, to be protected," said a senior bureaucrat who was part of the delegation. The officer added that the meeting was not to defend the "accused in the Adarsh scam since our view is that law should take its course".
The bureaucrat asserted that there is a real need for a mechanism that prohibits law enforcement agencies to take action against senior civil servants until they have first received the permission of higher authorities. He said such a safeguard is necessary because, many times, officials take decisions while discharging duties with honest intentions. But investigators do not first verify the facts. As soon as an FIR is lodged, law enforcers arrest the babus under the scanner.
Also, the senior bureaucrat maintained, officials at the level of principal and additional chief secretary have to sign a large number of files every day. It is therefore not possible for them to thoroughly read all the files. Under such circumstances, unwitting mistakes are possible. "We feel that the investigating agency should verify the intention of the bureaucrat and then decide the course of action," he said.
"We told the chief minister that if there is a criminal complaint against an official for taking a decision, such a complaint should be brought to the notice of the appointing authority. Action should be taken on the basis of the appointing authority's recommendations," the bureaucrat said.
Meanwhile, a senior bureaucrat said that after the ongoing budget session is over on Friday, Chavan will meet the chief secretary, law secretary and advocate general to decide the course of action following the Adarsh commission report.
Chavan has said that his government will not ask the CBI to abandon its investigation nor will it submit a report of the Adarsh commission to defence minister A K Antony. "The judicial commission has submitted a report on limited issues, while the CBI is probing wider issues. As such, there is no question of asking the CBI to stop the probe," Chavan said.
Maharashtra bureaucrats seek protection
Comment: Only an effective Lokpal as suggested by Anna Hazare will deter babus from money laundering, benami and black money transanctions. Governance in India is reduced to Ground Zero.

Veterans Rally to Protest Government Apathy

Veterans to rally, return medals to protest Centre's apathy
Respected Sir/Ma'am,
The following report -- released by the United News of India news agency on November 3, 2011 -- is for your kind perusal.
With regards
Abhi

Veterans to rally, return medals to protest Centre's apathy
Bhopal, Nov 3 (UNI) Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces will stage a Vishal Rally at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on November 12, under the banner of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), to peacefully protest against the Centre's apathy and negative attitude towards genuine demands.
"The event will commence at 1000 hrs and conclude at 1500 hrs. Thereafter, a delegation will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan to return medals and submit a memorandum signed in blood to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil (who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces)," IESM Vice-Chairman Major-General (Retd) Satbir Singh, Sena Medal said in a release. IESM Chairman Lieutenant-Gen (Retd) Raj Kadyan, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, VSM; has already written to the President to grant audience. The veterans have decided that in case the President herself does not accept the medals and the memorandum, they will bring these back.
Despite the veterans' peaceful protest movement throughout the country for the past over 40 months, deposit of over 22,000 Gallantry and Distinguished Service medals besides memoranda signed in their blood by over 1.50 lakh veterans to the Supreme Commander and numerous letters and meetings with the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and other authorities, the Centre has not accepted their demands, the main one being 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP).

Widows of Ex Servicemen discriminated
"It seems that the Centre yields only to non-peaceful agitations. The veterans are getting restless and their patience is running out. Before some misguided and volatile elements resort to unacceptable methods, the Government should grant the justified demands," Maj-Gen Singh felt.The veterans, their families and supporters have resolved to intensify their protest movement across the country to highlight the grave injustice that the Centre is meting out to them by disregard to services rendered by the erstwhile soldiers.
The graver injustice has been done to the defence widows, who are in receipt of family pensions, by excluding them from the ambit of enhancement of pensions of Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks carried out in March last year. Thus the weakest and the most needy segment of pensioners was left out.
The discrimination against the widows caused great consternation among the ESM community. The case was taken up with the Prime Minister by the IESM for extending the enhancement of pension to the widows; the same has not been carried out so far.
"The Centre's indifferent attitude towards the Armed Forces is unexplainable especially keeping in mind the hostile environment prevailing on our borders both at land and sea. A nation to survive in such an environment has to keep its forces well-equipped, well-trained, motivated and contented. It needs to be understood that veterans are the extension of service personnel. Any injustice to veterans also affects the serving soldiers who are future veterans. These aspects need to the holistically addressed," Maj-Gen Singh noted

Court Orders not implemented
Out of the cases filed in the Armed Forces Tribunal, over 90 per cent were won by defence personnel in the past year, but the Government is yet to implement the verdicts. The recommendatory Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission -- ordered by the Supreme Court -- which was to be effective from January 15, 2011 has been dispensed with. The apex court passed this judgement after deliberating on the treatment being meted out to the defence personnel by the Centre.
A petition filed by Rajya Sabha Member Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Independent) was being heard by the Upper House's Petition Committee that is not even being mentioned by the Government while replying to questions regarding non-grant of OROP.
"They continue to quote the two-years-old Committee of Secretaries," the veteran explained. The Centre paid "scant heed" to recommendations of the all-party Standing Committee on Defence comprising 31 parliamentarians strongly recommending OROP thrice in the past year.
The manner in which the Government treats recommendations of parliamentary committees and gives credence to the Report of the Committee of Secretaries, who are "biased" against the Armed Forces, speaks of the Centre's "apathy".

Self Defeating Indian Military Manipulates to Degrade Rank and Honour

Indian Army Manipulations Exposed
The question whether it is always the civilian establishment which denies us our dues. The following examples prove contrary.

Grant of higher scale to Lt Gens after the 5th CPC: The 5th CPC saw degradation of Lt Gens by way of placing them below DGPs from the IPS. A case was taken up for the rectification of the anomaly and the Services were offered on a platter that 1/3rd Lt Gens (other than Army Commanders who were already in a higher bracket) could be upgraded. It was refused by us and our stand was- give us 100% or give us none. Now this had far reaching consequences which are there for all to see even today. Rather than taking the offer and then fighting for rest of Lt Gens, we refused it altogether as a result of which all Lt Gens remained lower in pay than DGPs and were again placed in a lower grade (HAG) than DGPs (HAG+) in the 6th CPC. And then post 6th CPC, after much hankering we accepted the proposal of upgradation of 1/3rd Lt Gens to HAG+. The position would have been much better had we accepted 1/3rd after the 5th CPC and a higher figure after the 6th CPC. Who was to blame?, Not the MoD!

Grant of Pay Band-4 to Lt Cols after the 6th CPC: I haven’t stated this openly before, but the greatest resistance for grant of Pay Band-4 to Lt Cols came from within the Army, but the same was thankfully off-set by a stellar performance by the Air Force and Navy. The objection of the Army was that there would remain no incentive for higher ranks if this were to be accepted. A banal argument in light of the fact that we were ready to face a steep degradation in status and pay vis-à-vis civilian counterparts to ensure an imaginary incentive for higher ranks!.

Higher Grade Pay for Colonel vis-à-vis the rank of DIG: The pay scale of DIG was traditionally placed between the scales of Lt Col and full Col. After the 6th CPC, DIG was placed in a Grade Pay equivalent to a Brig. Despite forceful attempts by the Pay Commission Cells of the three services, the ultimate proposal forwarded to the Govt by the Services contained a demand of a Grade Pay of 8800 for a full Col and acceptance of 8900 for a Brig, thereby tacitly agreeing an inferior role for a Col and equation of a Brig (28 years’ service) with a DIG with 14 years’ of service. We did not seek for Colonel a GP higher than DIG and on the contrary sought a lower GP. If we do not even demand, why would they give?

Non-functional financial upgradation: In the organised Group A Services, after the 6th CPC, all officers are now entitled to non-functional financial upgradation till the scale of HAG (equal to Lt Gen) in case they are not promoted in the ordinary course. Hence, innocuously, unknown to our top brass, almost all civil officers irrespective of actual rank or grade, including those of the MES, are retiring with the pay and pension of Lt Gen while we continue fighting on mundane issues and wasting our energies and intelligence debating on the colour of the curtain in the VIP room (Ganga ???) in the Alpha Mess. There has been a silent takeover by the HAG on the civil side without much fanfare. When this matter was raised by the Air Force and Navy at a time when the Govt was willing to listen, it was shot down by the Army component. Realising the joke that we had played upon ourselves by not processing the proposal when it could see the light of the day, we took it up again, but this time it was rejected by the MoD. So whom do we blame ?

Grant of DACP to military medicos :- When the Govt had approved the Dynamic Assured Career Progression scheme for all doctors under the central govt, there was resistance from our very own PPOC (emanating again from the Army) that this would lead to higher pay to doctors than other officers. It was also foolishly pointed out that military doctors were in receipt of the Military Service Pay also and hence did not deserve DACP. Rather than helping our very own doctors in reaping benefits announced by the govt, we resisted such benefits. On the contrary, we should have smoothly allowed the scheme to be implemented and then could have asked for rectification of other anomalies affecting other personnel. A similar inane bogey was raised in the earlier part of the last century when the Central Govt had introduced Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) for all doctors. This had led to a protest by the Army HQ that if implemented, the doctors would start getting more emoluments than other Arms and Services. A pity, isn’t it ?

Non-grant of AV Report benefits to SSCOs commissioned prior to 2006 :- When the AV Singh Committee report was implemented, it was implemented for all officers serving in the Army as on 16 December 2004. Later however, our very own MS Branch discovered a ‘ghundi’ and observed that the said benefits could not be granted to SSCOs and WSES officers. When later the SSC scheme was tweaked in 2006 and the terms of engagement were changed from 5+5+4 to 10+4 years, the AV benefits were granted to all those who were commissioned under the said scheme or to those who had opted for the new terms. As a result of this, Male SSCOs commissioned prior to 2006 who are in old terms, including those who were in service in December 2004, are being promoted as quasi-substantive Captains on completing 9 years of service and are retiring in the substantive rank of Lieut even after serving for 14 years while their SSCO counterparts commissioned after 2006 are being promoted as Capt in 2 years, Maj in 6 years and Lt Col in 13 years. Similarly, WSES officers under the old terms are being promoted as Capt after 5 years and are not eligible for any substantive promotion after Capt. When there was hue and cry on the subject, our PS Directorate did take up the issue for rectification but recommended that SSCOs commissioned under the old terms should be made Capt in 5 years rather than the current 9 years !. So there you have it, we are not even magnanimous in demanding our rights. Rather than simply seeking that all officers who were in service in December 2004 or who joined thereafter should be promoted to Capt, Maj and Lt Col in 2, 6 and 13 years as per the universally applicable promotion scheme, we ourselves have been misers in demanding what should have logically flown to us without impediment. So who shall give if we do not even demand ?

Placing senior officers on appointments tenable by junior civilians :- Sample this – while we continue placing Lt Cols and Time Scale Colonels as GEs, the civilian establishment sends only officers with GP 6600 or max 7600 on these appointments. On one hand we theoretically claim that a Superintending Engineer is equal to a Lt Col, while on the other we continue sending Lt Cols and Cols on appointments tenable by even Executive Engineers. We send senior Majors from the SL cadre as AGEs which is an appointment held by Subedar equivalent GP 4600 (Group B) and Lieut equivalent GP 5400 officers from the civil side. We have been posting Majors as BSOs which is an appointment tenable by Group B Officers in GP 4600 who are 4 steps junior. And this is our own doing and cadre management, and then we blame the civilians for degradation of status! Brace yourself for the 7th CPC.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
Indian Military Masters of Self Defeat: Click here to read more
Comment: Kudos to Maj Navdeep who has delineated the MOD and AHQ- which are literally run by a bunch of self serving stereo stylists sans sensibilities!

Majors reduced to Minuscules by Bureaucrats

Dear Sqn Ldr Srinivasan,
I am extremely grateful to you for the e-mail you have sent out for our cause.

Today every aspect of Indian bureaucracy, including the once pristine armed forces, is in complete shambles due to personal greed, selfishness and lack of leadership. The prime minister is not someone like Winston Churchill of Napoleon Bonaparte whom you quote but a weakling acting like the Regent at the imperial court of the uncrowned Queen of India, an unworthy import of the notorious "BOFORS CHOR" from the land of mafia.

On top of all this is the alarming political VACUUM at the top due to total lack of direction and patriotism. Individually, a BILLION of us are aware of all this, but collectively, we cannot even match the punch delivered by one closed fist.

From top to bottom, we have the "baboos & banyas" ruling the roost showing little personal initiative and zero power of discretion, who cling to jobs by either being silent to the uproar around them or just giving response under the dark cloud of FEAR that translates into "If he is given an inch a million more will demand it!" And so NONE gets what is even legally due. Each of us will have a different story to tell- all full of bitter disappointments and despair.

I can only speak for myself. My own experience has been so disappointing and frustrating that I have lost all hope of getting a pie for pension any more. In short, I used to send Pension Bills to my bank in New Delhi. They in turn would misplace, lose or not receive them! I would send the same again, and finally by registered post. In June and November last year and in April this year I sent my pension claim through the Military Attache of Indian HC in London but received neither a reply nor pension money. CDA has gone silent if not dead. Finally on Christmas Day, 2010, I sent a letter to Defense Minister himself by air mail. It, too, brought NO result.

What I suggested to RM (Raksha Mantri) was that my pension should be credited by CDA every month without fail to my bank account in New Delhi and I would send LIFE CERTIFICATE to them once a year. This is the system in all civilized countries while India still seems to be stuck to her colonial past and, perhaps, waiting for a revolution to bring about a complete clean up.

Now I am thinking of addressing the Supreme Commander, a lady who seems as loyal to any Major, Air Commodore or ex serviceman as Nehru was to LAHORE in 1947 and Mrs. Feroze Khan (so-called Indira Gandhi!) was to East Bengal that was duly returned to the ENEMY after inflicting a crushing defeat on Pakistan when she could have even recovered North Kashmir, hands down.

So I have come to the conclusion that "Raksha Mantri" or the "Rashtrapatni", they are all stuck to glue like a flapping fly. After decades of observation one can identify the nature of this glue. But that is another story that has to do with the illegitimate and ignominious birth of the "Partitioned Indian Secular State" in 1947 rather than just the "majors to minuscules".
Fortunately I am living in the United Kingdom where I shall not face starvation or poverty like my former 'comrades in arms' in Bharat right now. I feel sorry for the charities that I used to support in the land of my birth (India).
Regards
Rajinder Singh Rajput

The Armed Forces Tribunal throws up its hands

Please read the below trail mail. (Regarding The Hindu news of 02 Feb 11)
So, what does one do? Earlier in Nov 2010, Justice Mathur of the Principal Bench AFT, Delhi (de-facto boss of all AFTs) had said at a seminar that of 4000 cases filed by veterans since the inception of AFTs a year ago, in 3600 cases judgements issued have been favourable to the veterans and against the Govt but, sadly, the Govt has not acted upon even one of the judgements. He had felt that the AFTs would serve no purpose unless it is given more teeth - power to get its judgements implemented. It is a sad story, every way.
Brig VA Subramanyam (Retd)

The Hindu 02 Feb, 2011 New Delhi by J. Venkatesan
New Delhi: The Armed Forces Tribunal, New Delhi, has expressed its anguish over lack of powers to get its orders executed. Many a time it has found itself helpless as its orders are not being implemented by authorities, said the Tribunal.In a brief order, the Tribunal, comprising Chairperson Justice A.K. Mathur and M.L. Naidu, said it had issued notice to all authorities including the Defence Secretary but to no avail. “The orders are at the mercy of the authorities; if they wish, they can execute and if they do not wish, they may not. This is a serious thing which has already been taken up with the government, but without any result.” No provision in Act

The Tribunal said: “We feel that we are handicapped because we do not have powers to issue civil contempt to get the orders of the Tribunal executed. It is sad that the power of civil contempt has not been given in the Armed Forces Tribunal Act. It may be an error or omission or may be deliberate… We feel helpless in the matters.”The only power to prosecute a person for criminal contempt had been given under Section 19.

“It is a very strange state of affairs and we are sorry to say that we cannot help the petitioner [in this case in which the order passed on January 25, 2010 has not been implemented so far].”

The Tribunal had ordered the Army to reinstate Fayaz Khan, after quashing a summary court martial that dismissed him from service as a religious teacher in 25 Rajput Regiment on charges of having links with Islamic terror groups.

Pointing out that the lack of civil contempt power was greatly hampering its functioning, the Tribunal said a recommendation had been sent to the government for making an amendment in the Act. The Tribunal granted leave to the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court, which could give proper directions to make it functional and effective.
Armed Forces Tribunal throws up its hands

Maj Navdeep Singh clarifies...
AFT has powers of contempt and can take coercive action in case of non-implementation of its orders: Kerala High Court

Licence Permit Raj morphed into a Land Mafia Raj

I am appending my letter published (edited version) in the Times of India (November 4, 2010), Mumbai edition, on the Adarsh Society ,Colaba, Mumbai scam. You may like to put it on "Report My Signal" site for reading by all IESM members.
Regards,
Shashank Bendre
Wg Cdr (Retd)

Letter to Editor, The Times of India, "My Times My Voice":
Sir,
With reference to "Towering Mess" (Economist Raghuram Rajan has rightly said that yesterday's licence-permit raj has morphed into a land mafia raj, with huge socio-economic costs for the country. We need to clean up the mess, starting now.), it was time you expressed your views on the issue in your editorial. Perhaps the delay could be attributed to your reluctance to bring the so far holy image and honour of the Armed Forces personnel into question. Real Estate scams and land grabs are not new to Indian cities, towns and even villages are not spared by the land mafia. The only new and dark dimension in the Adarsh Society scandal is the open involvement of top military bosses conniving with politicians and babus to grab a piece of property in the prime locality of Mumbai where no ordinary mortal can ever dream of stepping in. The decline in moral values of the civil society has been evident for almost two decades but the shocking revelation that the bug has affected the defence services too is now bound to land the nation in turmoil as never before. This is a sad situation because the armed forces is the only institution looked upon by the general public as the last bastion of the nation for upholding honesty, uprightness and discipline and the latest exposure is bound to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the people whether the Armed Forces too, have slipped into the quagmire of corruption that is slowly but surely gobbling up the very foundation of the nation. All veterans would like to hand their heads in shame. The article "How To Root Out Corruption" very much linked to this scam closely, advises setting up of an agency called "Lokpal" as a remedy. Though we already have a plethora of agencies and institutions established to watch over the functioning of the government and other undertakings, the fact remains that corruption thrives unhindered because these watchdogs themselves have become hotbeds of corruption. In such a scenario, the government is left clueless on how to tackle this problem. It is trapped in an unenviable position where any firm step against the corrupt politicians will invite the fall of the government itself. And that is precisely why Naxalism has gained acceptance by a large section of the people in the countryside, whose very livelihood is threatened by corruption, unlike the city folks and see no succour from the authorities. Everybody, including the corrupt themselves, must wake up to the stark reality that the situation is truly alarming as the very existence of the nation is at stake.
Yours faithfully,
Shashank Bendre
Wing Commander (Retd)

Majors Rank Pay Enhanced by AFT

Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
An email received from Lt Cdr Avtar Singh is appended below.
On behalf of YOU ALL, ‘i’ congratulate ‘Cdr Avtar Singh & team’ and other Majors and equivalents for having fought the case well.
Very well done friends.
I am attaching the copy of the judgement to this email.
We all should also congratulate AFT to have organised an efficient website where all the required information is available.
Kindly give widest possible publicity to this email. Print out the relevant portions of the judgement and post these at all suitable places like CSD outlets, ECHS Polyclinics, Officers Clubs and Community Centres etc.
In service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj.

Hard Copy of Judgment

Respected Brigadier,
Through RMS Blog I wish to inform all veteran of the rank of Major and equivalent that hard copy of the judgment has been received by us.
The judgment can be accessed on www.aftdelhi.nic.in either tomorrow after 1800 hrs or the day after.
I also wish to thank all my brother officers for supporting both financially as well as morally in fighting for the cause.
It is unimaginable that an unknown person can be trusted to this extent. Finally I request IESM and all NGO to use their good offices to prusuade the Govt not to waste their time in moving to court {which I feel they (the Govt) will not}.
(Minor editing done ot make the statement clear – Chander Kamboj)
Regards
Avtar Singh
Lt Cdr
22-9-2010

Indian legal tangle a blast from the past

Why should the 50% of military recruits be given a special weightage? Should not all entrants into the DSS (Deputy Superintending Surveyor) be treated alike without being afforded a handicap in the race? We see no difficulty in upholding this weightage, once we accept the reality that the military portion of the Survey is a compelling factor for national defence. We hold, on a study of the materials already adverted to, that sans they army engineers the Survey of India will become a functional failure in discharging its paramount duties in times of war and in spells of peace, defence spreads beyond hot war or cold war and sustains the sense of security by a state of ever readiness. There is enough literature to establish that the work done by the army wing of the Survey is far too important to be played with and such work is best done by that wing. The military recruits, as has been already observed, are commissioned officers with 3 to 6 years of service. They have a certain salary scale and period of service when they are baptised into the Survey of India. Giving due weight to these factors, Rule 5 lays down the criteria for seniority as between the military sector of recruits and the civilian counter-parts. What needs to be appreciated is that for the very efficiency of the Survey of India, a substantial army element is structurally essential. Army engineers are invited into this Service not because this department historically belonged to the Defence Forces but because it cannot minister to one of the major objectives of its creation if it does not have engineers with military training, aptitude, courage, discipline and dare-devilry in hours of crisis. The necessity of the Survey, not opportunity to the armymen, has determined the need to attract and, therefore, to allot a quota in the upper echelons, viz., Class I, for military engineers. This, in turn, has desiderated the offer of reasonable terms and conditions for army men to join the Survey of India. The military engineers belong to the Corps of Engineers. They are commissioned officers with service of 3 to 6 years before coming into the Survey which needs, not raw engineers, but men with some experience. They have prospects and scales of pay in the Defence Department. Why should they look at the Survey if on entry they are to lose their commissioned service and begin the rat race with civilian freshers? Why should they suffer pay cut by walking into the Survey of India? It is, therefore, fairly intelligible and basically equitable to allow military engineers credit for commissioned service and protection of already earned higher salaries. The reasoning is simple. The functional compulsions of the Survey of India require army engineers to be inducted, say half its Class I strength. These engineering officers have to possess some years of experience. How, then, can they be attracted into the Survey except by assuring them what they were enjoying in their existing service, viz., credit for the years under commission in reckoning seniority and fitment of their salary at a point in the scale of Class I officers so that, by way of personal pay or otherwise, a cut may be obviated. This is not discrimination or favoured treatment but justice to those whom, of necessity, you want and must, therefore, pay what they were being paid in the Army and give service credit for the years on commission because you need men with specified years of commissioned service. To equate them with unequal civilian freshers is precisely the Procrustean exercise which is unconstitutional equality anathematised by Article 14."
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 4:54 AM 16 comments

False statements are made by the Union of India by misleading their own counsel and then unethical appeals are filed if the case still goes against the Govt. The observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Urban Improvement Trust Bikaner Vs Mohan Lal on 30 October 2009 were apt :

“It is a matter of concern that such frivolous and unjust litigation by governments and statutory authorities are on the increase. Statutory Authorities exist to discharge statutory functions in public interest. They should be responsible litigants. They cannot raise frivolous and unjust objections, nor act in a callous and highhanded manner. They cannot behave like some private litigants with profiteering motives. Nor can they resort to unjust enrichment. They are expected to show remorse or regret when their officers act negligently or in an overbearing manner. When glaring wrong acts by their officers are brought to their notice, for which there is no explanation or excuse, the least that is expected is restitution/restoration to the extent possible with appropriate compensation. Their harsh attitude in regard to genuine grievances of the public and their indulgence in unwarranted litigation requires to be corrected. This Court has repeatedly expressed the view that the governments and statutory authorities should be model or ideal litigants and should not put forth false, frivolous, vexatious, technical (but unjust) contentions to obstruct the path of justice”

Even way back in 1973, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had this to say in Dilbagh Jarry Vs UOI while quoting the Kerala High Court :

“The State, under our Constitution, undertakes economic activities in a vast and widening public sector and inevitably gets involved in disputes with private individuals. But it must be remembered that the State is no ordinary party trying to win a case against one of its own citizens by hook or by crook; for the State’s interest is to meet honest claims, vindicate a substantial defence and never to score a technical point or overreach a weaker party to avoid a just liability or secure an unfair advantage, simply because legal devices provide such an opportunity. The State is a virtuous litigant and looks with unconcern on immoral forensic successes so that if on the merits the case is weak, government shows a willingness to settle the dispute regardless of prestige and other lesser motivations which move private parties to fight in court. The lay-out on litigation costs and executive time by the State and its agencies is so staggering these days because of the large amount of litigation in which it is involved that a positive and wholesome policy of cutting back on the volume of law suits by the twin methods of not being tempted into forensic show-downs where a reasonable adjustment is feasible and ever offering to extinguish a pending proceeding on just terms, giving the legal mentors of government some initiative and authority in this behalf. I am not indulging in any judicial homily but only echoing the dynamic national policy on State litigation evolved at a Conference of Law Ministers of India way back in 1957.”

That was 1973, this is 2010, but sadly, the story remains the same. Mr Moily, are you there???
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh

Noise pollution levels in most cities is beyond permissible levels

Noise pollution levels in most cities is beyond the permissible levels Sporadic noise monitoring in urban areas, mainly during festivals such as Deepawali by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) reveals this fact. A few SPCBs and PCCs have initiated regular noise monitoring since 2008-09. As per available data, the laid down noise norms for respective zones (Industrial, Commercial, Residential or Silence) are exceeded at many locations. However, a definite trend can not be ascertained since data is available only for a limited period.

The Supreme Court, in one of its judgment directed to put complete ban on bursting of sound emitting fire crackers during night time (between 10 pm and 6 am). Besides this, ban on use of sound emitting instrument or any sound amplifier at night time except in public emergency and use of horn at night time except in exceptional circumstance have been ordered. The Supreme Court also suggested to organise public awareness campaigns during festival seasons.

State Government have been advised to make provision for seizure and confiscation of loud-speakers, amplifier and other equipments which are found to create noise level beyond permissible limits. The Central Government has undertaken the task to create a national ambient noise monitoring network for urban areas and reporting the data therein, in accordance with the National Environment Policy-2006.

The various steps undertaken by the Government to control noise pollution include the following:-

(i) Implementation of the provisions of The Factory Act, 1948, the Air (Prevention and control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000;

(ii) Implementation of noise standards at the manufacturing stage for generator sets, motor vehicles, select domestic appliances and firecrackers; and

(iii) Restriction on the blowing of horns, bursting of sound emitted fire crackers, operation of sound emitting construction equipments, and playing of bands, etc during night time (10.00 pm to 6.00 am).
Noise pollution levels in most cities is beyond permissible levels

Who are the Noise Polluters?
It is primarily the Political Parties (who celebrate birthdays of their founders), the trade unions, illegal churches (located in residential areas) and so forth. The Police do not take action in spite of complaints from concerned citizens. The children and the elderly are the ones who suffer most from this malaise. There is not a single case of report of seizure and confiscation of loud-speakers, amplifier and other equipments which are found to create noise level beyond permissible limits by the state authorities. The PCB's are the most corrupt organisations and citizens cannot expect any relief!

Judges and Judicial ethics

Topic: Is corrupt judiciary the new reality of modern India?
The judges are honourable men and women. They have an unwritten code of conduct. They have professional ethics that may be called judicial ethics. The judicial ethics is a few notches higher than the ethics of other professions. A high standard of personal morality is maintained by a judge who lives up to the decorum maintained by the committed judiciary. His behaviour, public as well as private, his personal and professional conduct are expected to be above board.

Too high and too difficult to observe, one may think. Not exactly. One has to have the will to live like a judge. A judge judges others when their legal cases come before him. In turn, he is also judged by those he comes in contact with. Does an individual drop out of the society when he is elevated to the bench as a judge? No, certainly not. No man is an island. A judge is also a social being. A man is gregarious by nature. A judge is also a man, and now, a woman too. A judge cannot cut himself off the normal human relationship in the family, in the social set up and in the country he lives in. His judgements influence the individuals he has judged. He is influenced by the human trends in the society as he watches the TV, listens to the radio and reads newspapers. How can a judge not be influenced, though indirectly, by the social factors listed heretofore. And yet when he delivers a judgement on the case listed before him, he goes by the facts on record, the law of the land and does not allow extra-judicial factors or personal relationship influence him.

Balancing so many things and acting impartially is not an easy job. But a good judge does it. Can a judge socialise? He may. He should, otherwise he would be a frog in the well. The legal fraternity of judges have inter- action among themselves. In addition, the lawyers in lower courts as well as in higher courts interact socially with the judges and judicial magistrates. In non-descript towns they are members of the same club and play bridge or badminton together. Does this social circuit influence judicial decisions? Yes and No. It all depends on the individuals and not on bridge or badminton. Should this club activity of the bench and the bar under one roof be stopped? There is no law of the land that prohibits it unless it leads to a professional misconduct by one or both the parties.
Brig Chitranjan Sawant (Retd)
Read full article at Judges and judicial ethics

Justice delivery in India: All pending cases will be cleared by AD 2459

Saturday, October 24, 2009
Veerappa Moily stresses goal oriented action to expedite the justice delivery system

Dr. Veerppa Moily, Union Minister of Law & Justice has stated that all the stakeholders should work for goal oriented action to expedite the justice delivery system in the country. Addressing the ‘National Consultation for Strengthening the Judiciary towards reducing pendency and delays’, Dr. Moily stressed the need for bringing down the pendency of cases in the courts across the country within a time frame. He said that justice delivery system is falling short of the common citizen’s expectations especially the weaker sections of the society and causing a feeling of injustice and alienation among them.

He further said that fifty three thousand cases are pending with the Supreme Court, Forty lakh with different High Courts and Two crore Seven lakh cases with Lower Courts up to July 2009. On this occasion Dr. Moily also presented vision statement to Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishan, Chief Justice of India. The Action Plan include immediate measures for implementations like creation of National Arrears Grid / Identification of Arrears, Identification of Bottlenecks in Crises Areas, Adoption of innovative measures for expeditious case disposal, focus on selection, training and performance assessment of judicial personnel and court management executives and procedural, management and administrative changes. VK/ AD/GC
Veerappa Moily stresses goal oriented action to expedite the justice delivery system

Tailpiece
To clear the backlog of over 20 million cases it will take the Indian Judicial System a time span of over 450 years as per current time consuming process. What this really implies is that the Government is keen to ensure that the litigant dies tenfold (45x10) to ensure that the case is buried forever. Chances of a criminal ever getting convicted is remote as he would have died literally during the litigation. Therefore the mute question is: Is Indian Democracy producing more criminals than citizens? It is only matter of time when criminal population surpass population of its genteel citizens.

Corruption thrives in our system

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 The Poineer: Kunal Saha
There can be no argument that the single most important factor halting India’s progress is the pervasive corruption in the country, especially in the public sector. Despite impressive showing in overall economy and trade in the recent times, India is still considered as one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

Petty corrupt practices like a police constable demanding bribe from a traffic violator are unmistakable on the street. But the abundance of corruption that truly impedes development of a nation is rooted to a much deeper level. Reports of brazen corruption by high ranking officials in almost every important division of public services, including the judiciary, have hit the headlines.

Recently while suggesting that the hunt for the corrupt had so far bypassed the top, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged the CBI to go after the “big fish”. Even Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan recently called for seizure of the assets of public officials convicted in corruption cases. There are more reasons than one for the unabated growth of corruption in India. As the CJI has indicated, inordinate delay to prosecute the corrupt individuals plays a vital role in the proliferation of corruption. Even the corruption cases charged by the CBI are routinely kept pending for months before a trial could actually begin. The decision of the CBI court can then be appealed which may further linger for years in the higher court.

The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court has recently calculated that it could take another 466 years to clear the backlog of cases. This absurd number underscores a critical reason for failure to curb corruption in India.

The confiscation of the property of unscrupulous officials convicted for corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, as suggested by the CJI, may prove to be effective. However, public servants, who have accumulated colossal amount of wealth through corrupt practices while in the office, should receive exemplary punishment that must also include significant time in jail as it is unlikely that they would save illicit wealth in their own names.

The purpose of any punishment by the judicial system must include its role as a deterrent for similar crimes in the future. While the call from the CJI for more stringent action against corruption is laudable, a complete overhaul of the entire judicial as well as political system are essential to bring down the stiffly climbing graph of corruption in India. Without an expeditious justice delivery system, the problem of corruption cannot be removed from India.

focused on corruption in Govt Only?
By Amoghavarsha.ii on 9/22/2009 3:57:47 PM
Dear sir, Have any of the press written about corruption in private sectors. In most private organisations you do not get an order if you don't agree for a cut or comission before hand with the purchase officer. Please check in private banks also. If u don't pay comission your loan is bound not released. Go to temples - pay extra 50Rs, u get few more minutes to see the god. OK did u get the point. Write about that area which is the largest and also unfocussed.

Leaders must inspire their followers by their actions and not just high sermons
By Rahul on 9/22/2009 2:17:51 PM
It is ironic that more corrupt a society is, more pious are the sermons coming out of its leadership. There is a saying that 'When CHARACTER is lost everything is lost'. We as a society have to guard against this ultimate degradation. Sixty two years of so called political freedom has put us in a greater bondage of corruption and poverty than a thousand years of our existence as slaves. Do something honorable leaders, lead from the front.
Corruption thrives in our system
Incredible corrupt India

President Inaugurates Armed Forces Tribunal

Saturday, August 08, 2009 15:25 IST
The President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) here today. Calling it an important milestone in the history of the Armed Forces, the President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped that the setting up of the Tribunal will enhance the confidence and trust among the large number of Services personnel in the country’s justice dispensation system in relation to their service matters. It has been a longstanding demand of the men in uniform to have the option for a review of decisions of the Court Martial.

Cautioning that the delay in dispensation of justice defeats the very purpose of delivery of justice, the President asked the Tribunal to be particularly careful in avoiding the build up of backlogs. “There should be predictability in court hearings and adjournments granted only in very exceptional circumstances,” she added.

Set up by an Act of Parliament in December, 2007, the AFT will have its Principal Bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches spread across the country. The Tribunal will have 15 courts in all, - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi. The Principal bench in New Delhi will be functional from Monday, August 10.

Terming the landmark event as a ‘magna carta’ in Indian military history, the Minister for Law and Justice, Shri M. Veerappa Moily said that the Tribunal would act as an outlet for redressal of grievances of Armed Forces personnel. The Tribunal is an endeavour in “the search for truth and justice” after the convergence of various pillars of democracy, Shri Moily said. He hoped that the Tribunal would not get bogged down in “the juggernaut of bureaucracy.” Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, who took over as the founder Chairperson of the Tribunal on Sep.1, 2008, said the arrears of pending cases in civilian courts is a matter of concern. He hoped that the Tribunal would reduce burden on the regular courts. At present nearly 10,000 such cases are pending before various courts across the country, most of them with the high courts.

The AFT will provide a judicial forum for redressal of grievances of about a 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel and another 1.2 million Ex-Servicemen. Having powers of a criminal court, the Tribunal can grant bail to men held in military custody and also hear appeals against sentences handed down by the court-martial. The decisions of the AFT can be challenged only in the Supreme Court.

The Tribunal will provide better justice delivery system to the Services personnel, particularly those living in remote and inaccessible areas, the Chief Justice of India Mr. Justice KG Balakrishnan said. Pointing out that the Army, Navy and the Air Force Acts have some archaic and “authoritative” provisions of the colonial legacy, he observed that there was a general perception that sitting officers of the Court Martial are not inclined to impartial and fair justice. The Tribunal’s success parameters would be to ensure fairness, speedy justice and its enforcement, he added.

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony said that the tribunal fills a void that existed in the military justice dispensation. It would fulfill the observations made by the Supreme Court long back in 1982 and the subsequent recommendations of the Law Commission that “the Services personnel must have at least one judicial review” of verdicts handed down by the Court Martial.

The Tribunal will have a Chairperson who has been or is a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a high court. Besides, each court consists of a judicial member and an administrative member. Justice RV Ravindran, a sitting Supreme Court judge who is the Chairperson of the Selection Committee of the Armed Forces Tribunal, said that the decision making on grievances related to armed forces personnel demands specialized knowledge of Services protocol besides upholding the tenets of natural justice.

Delivering the closing address, the Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju said that this day heralds a new era in the administration of justice for the armed forces personnel.
DM/PK/HH
President Inaugurates Armed Forces Tribunal

Moily says more than 2.6 crore cases pending in subordinate courts

Moily says more than 2.6 crore cases pending in subordinate courts
Mon, Jul 13 09:40 PM
New Delhi, July 13(ANI): Union Minister of Law and Justice, Veerappa Moily, on Monday said that more than 2.6 crore cases were pending in the subordinate courts and over 39 lakh cases were pending in high courts across the country.

"As per the reports received from the Registries of the High Courts, 39,10,858 cases were pending in the High Courts and 2,66,50,467 cases were pending in the Subordinate Courts as on December 31, 2008," Moily said.

Moily also said that according to information received from the Registry of the Supreme Court, 50,659 matters (31,363 admission matters and 19,296 regular hearing matters) were pending in the Supreme Court as on 1st June 2009.

He further added that government has taken several measures to smooth the progress of cases in courts.

Earlier, government had introduced 'Fast Track Courts' to speed up trials in various courts. About 25.07 lakh cases have been disposed of by these courts out of 31.01 lakh cases transferred to them, Moily said.

The minister also informed that the government periodically monitors the strength of judges in high courts and ensures timely filing up of vacancies so that courts does not undergo scarcity of judges.

Moily emphasised that on the basis of reviews, the strength of judges in the Supreme Court has been increased from 26 to 31 and 163 posts of judges have been created in various high courts. (ANI)
Moily says more than 2.6 crore cases pending in subordinate courts

Comment: Will Justice ever be meted out to criminals of our Nation?

Criminalisation of Citizens: A typical case

UPA Minister approaches HC judge to bailout CBI accused
Chennai/New Delhi: A Madras High Court judge's stunning declaration that a union minister had asked him to give bail to a father-son duo accused of forging marksheets prompted the BJP to demand Tuesday that the prime minister probe the matter and sack the as yet unnamed ministerial colleague.

Madras High Court Judge R. Reghupathi said in court Monday that a union minister asked him to give bail to two men - a medical student and his doctor father - accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of forging marksheets.

Said Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad: "In Indian history, it has happened for the first time that a sitting judge of the high court has accused a central minister of calling him to request anticipatory bail to the accused."

Labelling it a "very serious matter", Prasad told reporters in New Delhi: "A high court judge has accused a cabinet minister. The Madras High Court judge has said if the minister does not apologise, his name would be taken in the proceedings."

"So, we demand and expect that the prime minister would look into the matter at his own level and sack the minister."

Responding to the controversy, union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said: "First we cannot talk like this. Secondly, we cannot talk to the judge that what has happened. These are the limitations. Judiciary works on its own parameters and we cannot make any queries on judges' remark."

The judge was hearing the anticipatory bail petition of S. Kiruba Shridhar, a third-year MBBS student in a private medical college of Puducherry, and his father C. Krishnamurthy.

Reghupathi did not name the minister but threatened to complain to the central government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the interference.

He transferred the case to Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale and said he would incorporate the details in his order unless an unconditional apology was tendered.

Shridhar, who had been failing in his exams for two years, joined hands with his father and allegedly replaced his answersheet to get extra marks in the subject. Later, he and his father were found by the CBI to be involved in the forging.
UPA Minister approaches HC judge to bailout CBI accused

Members of the Armed Forces Tribunal appointed

Monday, June 22, 2009 Ministry of Defence
The Government has approved the appointment of following as Judicial and Administrative Members in the Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench and Various Regional Benches), in scale of pay Rs. 26,000/- (fixed) (pre revised), for a period of 4 years from the date of assumption of the post or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Judicial Members
1. Mr. Justice Janardan Sahai
2. Mr. Justice K Padmanabhan Nair (Retd)
3. Mr. Justice Shilendra Shanker Kulshrestha (Retd)
4. Mr. Justice Ghanshyam Prasad (Retd)
5. Mr. Justice Manak Lall Mohta
6. Mr. Justice AC Arumugaperumal Adityan
7. Mr. Justice Anwar Ahmad (Retd)
8. Mr. Justice Bhanwaroo Khan

Administrative Members
1. Lt. Gen (Retd) S Pattabhiraman
2. Lt. Gen (Retd) Amrik Singh Bahia
3. Lt. Gen (Retd) Madan Gopal
4. Lt. Gen (Retd) Susheel Gupta
5. Lt. Gen (Retd) M L Naidu
6. Lt. Gen (Retd) HS Panag
7. Lt. Gen ( Retd) Thomas Mathew
8. Lt. Gen ( Retd) PR Gangadharan
9. Lt. Gen ( Retd) SS Dhillon
10. Lt. Gen (Retd) ZU Shah
11. Lt. Gen (Retd) RK Chhabra
12. Lt. Gen (Retd) NS Brar
13. Vice Adm (Retd) RF Contractor
14. Lt. Gen (Retd) BS Sisodia
15. Commodore (Retd) Mohan Phadke

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the creation of 31 posts for the Armed Forces Tribunal on June 24, 2008 paving the way for the creation of the proposed independent adjudicating forum for dispensing cost effective and speedy justice to the armed forces personnel. The posts include 1 of Chairperson and 29 posts of members for the Principal Bench at New Delhi and 8 Regional Branches. It also includes one post of Principal Registrar at the Principal Bench.

The Principal Bench at New Delhi will have three courts and will have jurisdiction over High Courts in the State of Delhi. Similarly, the Chandigarh and Lucknow Benches will have 3 courts each. The Chandigarh Bench will have jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana, J&K and Himachal Pradesh. The Lucknow Bench will have jurisdiction over Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh. The other locations for the Benches with one court each will be Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai and Jaipur. The Kolkata Bench will have jurisdiction over West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Guwahati Bench will have jurisdiction over Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. The Mumbai Bench will have jurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. While Kochi Bench will have jurisdiction over Kerala and Karnataka, Chennai Bench will look after Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The Jaipur Bench will have jurisdiction over Rajasthan.

The setting up of the Armed Forces Tribunal has fulfilled a long-felt need of the country’s three defence services. Over 9,800 cases filed by Service personnel are pending before various High Courts. The maximum number of cases numbering 2487 will be transferred to the Chandigarh Bench while 2407 will be adjudicated by the Lucknow Bench. Two thousand three hundred and six (2,306) cases are proposed to be transferred to the Delhi Principal Bench.

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 which was passed by the Parliament during the Winter Session of 2007 received the assent of the President on 25th December, 2007. The Act was notified on 28th December, 2007. It provides for adjudication or trial by the tribunal of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolment and conditions of service in respect of persons subject to Three Services Acts as also for appeals arising out of orders, findings or sentences of court martial held under the said Acts and for matters connected with them. The Act came into force with effect from 15th June, 2008. The Tribunal will have original jurisdiction in service matters and appellate jurisdiction in court martial matters. Mr. Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur was appointed as the Chairman of the Tribunal. The Tribunal will consist of 1 Chairperson, 14 judicial and 15 administrative members. The administrative members shall be officer of the rank of Major General or above in the Army or equivalent rank in the Navy or the Air Force with three years of service in that rank. JAG of three Services with at least one year of service as JAG shall also be eligible. The judicial member should be serving or retired judge of the High Court. All appointments to the Tribunal are made in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The Tribunal has powers to punish for its contempt.
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Samir / RAJ
Members of the Armed Forces Tribunal appointed

Comment: JAG branch needs to be streamlined and its officers impove their professional skills to ensure the system is just and free from influence and corruption.

RTI Vs OSA: People have right to know?

A Tribune Special
RTI underlines accountability, says Virendra Kumar

President Pratibha Patil, while addressing the joint session of Parliament on June 4, has laid down the road-map for the new UPA government. Noting that creativity, innovation and enterprise held the key to people and nations realising their potential, she observed that the “dreary desert sand of dead habit” must be left behind.

Pursuing the same strand, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his communication to his Cabinet colleagues, gently reminded that “equity, innovation and public accountability must be the watchword of our government”.

One of the conspicuous and perhaps the most critical areas where the ‘dead habit continues to be the de-railing factor of democracy is the absence of accountability of public functionaries at different levels of governance. This bureaucratic culture of non-accountability is not only protected but also accentuated by the ‘dead habit’ of ‘secrecy’ which continues to derive its sustenance from the survival of the Official Secrets Act of 1923. This is so despite the neutralising effect of the Right to Information Act of 2005.
People have the right to know

Comment: Many innocent citizens and government servants have been framed by GOI and cases being dragged in the courts and pursued at Public Cost for several years for exposing bureaucratic corruption. There is a need to streamline and stop witch hunting and gross misuse of powers under the guise of "Official Secrecy act".