Pension of Defence Personnel
Government constituted a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary in July, 2012 to look into the Pay & Pension related issues of Armed Forces personnel & ex-servicemen. The Committee submitted its report dated 17.08.2012 on pension issues, which has been accepted by the Government. The recommendations relate to OROP-Bridging the gap in pension, Enhancement of family pension, Dual Family Pension and Family pension to mentally I physically challenged son / daughter of armed forces personnel on marriage. Implementation of the above recommendations would involve financial implication of Rs.2300/- crores p.a. which would benefit 13 lakh pensioners.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh in a written reply to Shri A. SaiPratap in Lok Sabha today.
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Legitimately there exist no difference between Honorably released\discharged Territorial Army officers with Gratuity & Officers court marshaled, Disgraced \cashiered & Discharged on other disciplinary grounds from Indian Armed forces as both are denied of Ex-Service men \ armed forces veterans status and ensuing benefits
Officers in the TERRITORIAL ARMY are holding commission, granted by the president of INDIA with designation of Rank corresponding to those of Indian commissioned officers of the regular Army , Granted Gratuity on their honorable retirement\ Discharge\Release after 05 years of aggregate embodied service / or 10 years of commissioned service alike Non pensioner SSCO\ECO
Yet are not treated as “armed forces veterans ” unlike NON pensioner Short Service Commissioned Officers .-who are granted status of Ex-servicemen, on their discharge with Gratuity after 05 year commissioned service.
as per ARMY pension regulation Part-I 1961;- Gratuity is an kind of pension but officers Honorably released\discharged with Gratuity from TERRITORIAL ARMY are excluded from consideration as Ex-servicemen without any valued reason
Honorably retired officers of TERRITORIAL ARMY are awarded Gratuity at par with All retirees of Indian Armed forces & constitute one class of Exserviceman.
It is not LEGAL to single out certain persons of the same class for differential treatment. Denial of Ex-Service men status and ensuing benefits had produced a class within a class without rational basis amongst ALL honorably retired officers.
As per Government Order dated 30.10.1987, which clarified that, all the members of Territorial “Army will be entitled to same benefits as made applicable to Indian Army and this matter has been further clarified by the Government Order dated 03.02.1998. Accordingly Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench at, New Delhi Order dated 19.02.2010 granted late entrant pension to the TERRITORIAL Army Officer vide Army pension regulation applicable to Territorial Army equally to their counterparts in Regular Army.
Existing definition, laid down by the Department of Personnel & Training(DOP&T), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, which has been in vogue since 01 Jul1987,–also ref -Appex’ E’
Ex-servicemen;-
;-Who has served in any rank whether as a combatant or non- combatant in the regular Army, Navy or Air Force of the Indian Union but does not include a person who has served in the Defense Security Corps (DSC), the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), the Lok Sahayak Sena and the Para Military Forces
-The personnel of Territorial Army (TA) who are pension holders for continuous embodied service, persons with disability attributable to military service and gallantry award winners released on or after 15 Nov 1986 are eligible to status of ex-servicemen.
Pension & Gallantry award ;- are the compulsory criteria – for the personnel of Territorial Army to attain the status of Ex serviceman which can neither be assured Nor Guaranteed & seems practicably unfeasible abiding the Role\ service concept of Territorial ARMY
Denial of EXSERVICEMAN status to Honorably RETIRED (with gratuity ) officers of Territorial army is an open affront to their Reckon able embodied service rendered for national defense,& is wholly arbitrary, discriminatory and violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.– if Two categories of person from same class different treatment meted out to them would be treated as discriminatory & offend equality without any ground to invalidate or strike down such classification
it is incorrect for the government to discriminate between officers retired from the Armed forces units vis-à-vis those retired from territorial army units when the bullets of terrorists made no such distinction between personnel serving in TA units in trying conditions. Yet TA personnel’s are being deprived of noble status of ex serviceman.