SC upholds arrears on pension to hony naib subedars

CHANDIGARH :The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the defence ministry contesting the decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) to grant interest on pension arrears of honorary naib subedars. The appeal was quashed on May 15.

The AFT had given its ruling on a petition filed by Naib Subedar Rubel Singh from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.

The sixth pay panel had recommended the grant of pension to honorary naib subedars at rates equivalent to those given to regular naib subedars with effect from January 1, 2006. Though the cabinet cleared the recommendation, the ministry paid enhanced pension only to post2006 retirees.

Honorary naib subedars who had retired before 2006, were given the pension of a havildar plus an additional sum of Rs 226. The Armed Forces Tribunal, Chandigarh, struck down this distinction in 2010 and directed the government to pay pension of regular naib subedars to both pre- and post-2006 retirees. The MoD, however, appealed against this decision to the SC, which dismissed its plea.

When the ministry did not implement the decision, the AFT reiterated its orders in 2013 and rejected former’s contention, restricting the grant of arrears to three years prior to filing of petitions by affected pensioners.

Citing SC and HC decisions, the AFT held that the government was to be faulted for not following the court orders, not the affected pensioners. The ministry challenged the order but the appeal was again dismissed by the SC. Later, the AFT imposed an interest of 8% on the arrears from January 2006 onwards in case the government defaulted in payment for more than three months. Legal experts say the MoD appeal was ill-advised since the amount spent on litigation and the man-hours wasted was many times more than the interest it owed to the litigants. Experts also pointed out that had the SC entertained the appeal, MoD would have had to file appeals in hundreds of similar cases.

THE DEFENCE MINISTRY HAD CONTESTED AFT’S DECISION TO GRANT INTEREST ON PENSION ARREARS OF HONORARY NAIB SUBEDARS.