Reserved Court No. 1 Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Lucknow
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1 RESERVED COURT NO. 1 ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL, REGIONAL BENCH, LUCKNOW Original Application No. 11 of 2014 With Original Application No. 14 of 2014 Wednesday this the 3rd day of February, 2016 “Hon’ble Mr. Justice Virendra Kumar DIXIT, Judicial Member Hon’ble Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, Administrative Member” (1) Original application No. 11 of 2014 1. No.JC-104130 Hony Lt Mulayam Singh Rathor s/o Late Shri Khunno Singh, aged about 70 years, r/o Vill : Gusarpur, Post : Gosarpur, Tehsil : Farrukhabad Dist : Farrukhabad (UP) – 209651 2. No.JC-184668 Hony Lt Prithvi Raj Singh s/o Late Shri Khunno Singh, aged about 66 years, r/o Vill : Gusarpur, Post : Gosarpur, Tehsil : Farrukhabad, Dist : Farrukhabad (UP) – 209651 3. No.JC-367530 Hony Lt Rajbir Singh s/o Late Shri Achhe Singh, aged about 60 years, r/o Vill : Bholepur, Post : Bholepur, Tehsil : Farrukhabad, Dist : Farrukhabad (UP) – 209601 4. No.JC-568238 Hony Lt Sher Bahadur Singh s/o Shri Hanuman Singh Sengar, aged about 60 years, r/o Village : Rampur, Post : Rampur, Tehsil Mowganj, Dist : Rewa (MP) – 486005 5. No.JC-141047 Hony Lt (DSC) Jogeshwar Singh s/o Late Shri Vijir Singh, aged about 75 years, r/o Vill : Gusarpur, Post : Gosarpur, Tehsil Farrukhabad Dist : Farrukhabad (UP) – 209651 ………..Applicants Versus 1. Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi-110011 2. Chief of Army Staff, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi-110010 2 3. OIC Records, Artillery Records, Nasik Road Camp, Nasik (MAH) (For Applicant No. 1) 4. OIC Records, Army Supply Corps (South) Records, Bangalore (KTK) (For Applicant No. 2) 5. OIC Records, Signals Records, Jabalpur (MP) (For Applicant No. 3) 6. OIC Records, The Mahar Regiment Centre Saugor (MP) (For Applicant No. 4) 7. OIC Records, Defence Security Corps Centre, Mill Road, Cannanore (Kerala) (For Applicant No. 5) 8. PCDA (Pension), Draupadi Ghat, New Cantt, Allahabad (UP) -211014 ………..Respondents Ld. Counsel appeared for the Applicants - Shri Shailendra Kumar Singh, Advocate Departmental Representative for the Respondents - Col. Kamal Singh (2) Original application No. 14 of 2014 1. No. JC-030654 Hony Lt Hardeo Singh Sengar, s/o Shri Ganjan Singh, aged about 84 years, r/o Vill : Barera, Teh; Ajitmal, Dist : Etawah (UP) 2. No. JC-051038 Hony Lt Ram Shanker Yadav, s/o Shri Lalja Prasad, aged about 77 years, r/o Vill : Kumbhi, Teh; Akbarpur, Dist : Kanpur Dehat (UP) 3. No. JC-0725545 Hony Lt Raj Kumar Singh, s/o Babu Singh, aged about 76 years, r/o Vill : Jamu, Teh; Kathara Road, Dist : Kanpur (UP) 4. No. JC-099816 Hony Lt Jit Bahadur Singh, s/o Late Shri Sheo Dutt Singh, aged about 71 years, r/o Vill : Barauli, Teh; Etawah, Dist : Etawah (UP) 5. No. JC-104220 Hony Lt Maharaj Singh, s/o Shri Tilak Ram aged about 64 years, r/o Vill Ram Nagar, Teh; Mowana, Dist : Meerut (UP) 6. No. JC-120516 Hony Lt Anokhey Lal Pal, s/o Shri Mannhe Lal Pal, aged about 67 years, r/o Vill : Silvapur, Teh; Chibramau, Dist : Fatehgarh (UP) 7. No. JC-161338 Hony Lt Ram Kumar, s/o Late Shri Gajodhar aged about 64 years, r/o Vill : Murra, Teh : Derapur, Dist : Kanpur Dehat (UP) 3 8. No. JC-177785 Hony Lt Raj Bahadur Singh, s/o Shri Man Singh aged about 59 years, r/o Vill : Sahbajpur, Teh : Bindki, Dist : Fatehpur (UP) 9. No. JC-187768 Hony Lt Kali Shankar, s/o Late Shri Suryabali, aged about 65 years, r/o 8-B, Vishwakarma Nagar, Sanigwan Road, Dist : Kanpur (UP) 10. No. JC-204362 Hony Lt Hukum Singh Sengar, s/o Shri Munna Singh, aged about 61 years, r/o Vill : Bakharia, Teh : Ghatampur, Dist : Kanpur (UP) 11. No. JC-226822 Hony Lt Ram Govind Singh, s/o Shri Kamta Singh, aged about 56 years, r/o Vill : Bajpaipur, Teh : Dalmau, Dist : Rai Bareli (UP) 12. No. JC-172228 Hony Lt Raj Kumar Pandey, s/o Late Shri Ahorwabin Pandey, aged about 64 years, r/o Vill : Pure Tilak Ram (Ariyawan), Post : Rajamau via Tilot, Dist : CSM Nagar (Amethi) (UP) ………..Applicants Versus 1. Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi-110011 2 Chief of Army Staff, Integrated Head Quarter, Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi. 3. Officer-in-Charge Records, Army Educational Corps Records, Panchmarhi (MP) – 464881(For Applicant No. 1) 4. Officer-in-Charge Records, The Kumaon Regiment, Ranikhet (For Applicant No. 2) 5. Officer-in-Charge Records, The Rajputana Rifles, Delhi Cantt-110010 (For Applicant No. 3) 6. Officer-in-Charge Records, Bengal Engineer Group & Centre, Roorkee (UT) (For Applicant No. 4&6) 7. Officer-in-Charge Records, The Rajput Regiment Centre, Fatehgarh (UP) (For Applicant No. 5&8) 8. Officer-in-Charge Records, Artillery Records, Nasik Road Camp-422102 (For Applicant No. 7,11&12) 9. Officer-in-Charge Records, Adm Battalion (PAOR) AOC Centre, Secunderabad (AP) – 500 015 (For Applicant No. 9) 4 10. Officer-in-Charge Records, The Mahar Regimental Centre, Saugor (MP) (For Applicant No. 10) 11. Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Draupadi Ghat, Allahabad (UP) -211014 ………..Respondents Ld. Counsel appeared for the Applicant - Shri Shailendra Kumar Singh, Advocate Ld. Counsel appeared for the Respondent - Mrs. Deepti Prasad Bajpai Central Govt. Counsel ORDER “Per Hon’ble Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, Administrative Member” *********** 1. These Original Applications have been preferred by the applicants seeking identical reliefs of implementing the Government instructions for release of entitled pension with arrears with effect from 01.01.2006 instead of 24.09.2012. All the applicants were conferred honorary (Hony) ranks of lieutenants (Lts) before their retirement from service. Since the reliefs claimed are identical, Learned Counsel appearing for the parties agreed for the Original Applications to be decided by a composite judgment and order. In the light of the above, all the Original Applications have been considered together for being decided by a composite judgment. 2. Factual matrix of the case is that all the applicants were enrolled in the Indian Army on respective dates and they retired on completion of their terms and conditions in the Army on different dates. They all were bestowed Hony rank of Lts on active list. The common grouse of all the applicants is that they were not paid the pension and pensionary benefits concomitant with the rank of Hony Lts as per the recommendations made by the 6th Pay Commission w.e.f 01.01.2006, notwithstanding several representations having been made by them to the Competent Authorities citing several orders and judgments passed by the Armed Forces Tribunals, and nodded in approval by Hon’ble The Apex Court. 3. Learned Counsel for the applicants submitted that notwithstanding recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission for grant of pension for all 5 Hony Lts having been accepted as contained in Policy letter dated 08.03.2010 by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Defence (Department of Ex Servicemen Welfare), and consequent Circular No. 430 dated 10.03.2010 issued by the PCDA (P), Allahabad, revised pension has not yet been issued. He further submitted that Circular No 501 dated 17.01.2013 was issued in pursuance of Govt of India, Ministry of Defence (Department of Ex-servicemen welfare) letter No. 1(13)/2012/D (Pen/Policy) dated 17 Jan 2013 on the recommendation made by 6th Central Pay Commission regarding improvement in pension of JCO/OR retired/discharged/invalided out of service prior to 01.01.1996 wherein pension of Hony Lts has been fixed @ Rs.15465.00 per month w.e.f. 24.09.2012 arbitrarily. He also submitted that in a similar case Central Administrative Tribunal (PB) vide their order dated 01.11.2011 in Original Application No 655 of 2010 & others directed respondents to re-fix the pension of all pre-2006 retirees w.e.f. 01.01.2006. The said order was challenged in the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, wherein Hon’ble High Court vide their order dated 29.04.2013 in W.P. (C) 1535 of 2012 & others upheld the decision of the Full Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (PB). Subsequently, Union of India filed SLP (Civil) 23055 of 2013 in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India against the order dated 29.04.2013 passed by Delhi High Court. The said SLP came up for hearing before the Apex Court on 29.07.2013 and was dismissed on the same day. Hence, in the light of the above judgments passed by Hon’ble The Apex Court, applicants are entitled for their re-fixation of pension in the rank of Hony Lts w.e.f 01.01.2006 and not w.e.f. 01.07.2009 or 24.09.2012 in parity. 4. Learned Counsel for the Respondents submitted that the applicants are Hony Lts of Indian Army who retired prior to 01.01.2006. Hony Lts, who retired before implementation of the 6th Central Pay Commission are entitled for revised pension Rs 13500/- per month w.e.f 01.01.2006 as per Annexure III as referred at Para 16.3 of the GOI MOD Letter No 17 (4)/2008(1)/D (Pen/Pol) dated 11.11.2008 and PCDA (P) Allahabad Circular No. 397 dated 18 Nov 2008. The PCDA (P) Allahabad issued a Circular no 501 dated 17 Jan 2013 for revision of pension in respect of Pre-2006 retirees which came into effect from 24 Sep 2012. He further contended that the applicants filed O.A. No. 11 of 2014 and O.A. No. 14 of 2014 before the Armed Forces 6 Tribunal at Lucknow praying for release of pension w.e.f.