The gameplan of legal pundits : The govt sleeps while sadists take the system for a ride

You may have read this on the blog before.

All is fair in love and war they say, and the same seems to be the battle-cry of the Central Government against its retired employees.

So what is it that the people in officialdom have against disabled veterans and pensioners ?

The last months have seen the Union of India filing appeals and SLPs in almost every decision of the Hon’ble Courts allowing disability pension to disabled veterans. The same is the story with other pensionary matters. I feel ashamed in saying this but while the lawyers make hay, former soldiers and their families suffer in silence.

It is turning out to be sickening now. And this is to say the least.

Law has now been well settled by the Courts including the Hon’ble Supreme Court on certain issues, but the legal advisors of the government are in no mood to relent. Even when High Courts (and now benches of the AFT) are deciding matters with well-rounded decisions based on settled law and principles of equity, the central govt continues to mindlessly file appeals before the Supreme Court. The govt also continues to refuse benefits to veterans in settled issues till the time individual cases are filed separately by pensioners. One such glaring example discussed before is disability pension to voluntary retirees. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has upheld the right of voluntary retirees to receive disability pension, the Union of India continues to file appeals against decisions of High Courts granting such benefits to affected disabled personnel. Another very recent and shocking example is SLP No 688 of 2010 filed by the Central Govt before the Supreme Court which was listed for hearing on 25th of January, 2010. The case involved the improved pensionary benefits granted to PBOR wef 10-10-1997 after removing the anomalies of the 5th CPC. The Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court had earlier in the year 2008 held that such benefits had to be granted to affected personnel with effect from 01-01-1996 (and not 10-10-1997) since the anomaly had to be rectified from the date of its inception and not from some other prospective artificial date. The High Court had hence held personnel who retired between 01-01-1996 to 10-10-1997 also entitled to the enhanced benefits. The Union of India, as expected, challenged the verdict before the Hon’ble Supreme Court through an SLP but the same was dismissed on merits on 21-11-2008. So far, so good, but what is shameful is that fully knowing that the law was now settled by the Apex Court and that the Central Govt had itself rectified this anomaly through the anomalies committee, another SLP (the above mentioned 688 of 2010) was filed by them this new year against another such decision by the same High Court and the same has again been dismissed by the Apex Court on 25-01-2010. I bet the Hon’ble Supreme Court would not have been informed in the fresh SLP of the earlier dismissal of an exactly similar case in the year 2008.

It is high time that the Defence Minister, the military top brass and the Defence Secretary take a call on this mindless one sided ego based litigation which, besides leading to burdening judicial fora, is also leading to burden on the State and demoralisation of rank and file. Nobody stands to gain except probably the battery of lawyers appearing for the Union of India. It also seems that power has been concentrated in the hands of a few officers dealing with pensionary and legal matters who have spent quite a few years in the corridors of the Services Headquarters & the Ministry and decisions of filing appeals are thrust upon the top brass without due judiciousness or sensitivity concerning the issues at hand. This must change. A letter recently marked to the Defence Minster by a an ex-services welfare organisation aptly describes the rot :

“Lower staff at the Pension wing of the Defence Ministry is also known to prepare misleading and deceptive noting sheets which are put up to senior officers and even the Raksha Mantri, who in good faith affix their initials leaving the gallery open to such officers who then flaunt the said approvals by stating that the same have the sanction of the Defence Minister. It is also learnt that the officers in the Defence Ministry have asked Govt lawyers in writing to change their legal opinion when such lawyers had advised against filing of appeals.”

What is the game behind this, one may ask. Well, the govt is well aware that disabled veterans and poor pensioners do not have adequate financial back-up to defend their cases in the Supreme Court, so for the govt it is well worth taking a chance. I can only say that in the interest of equity and fair-play, we all must wake up before some officers take the entire defence services and the legal system for a royal ride. It is also time for senior staff of the Ministry and our uniformed officers to apply proper mind before they permit their subordinates to resort to unethical litigation against poor people who have served the nation to the best of their abilities. The hint of my call is particularly directed towards the upper echelons of Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in the MoD and the Personnel Services Directorate in the Army Headquarters. The tendency to view poor litigants as ‘Enemies of the State’ must also change.