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The Ministry of Defense had said in a letter published on January 20 that it would pay the payments from ‘One Rank, One Pension’ in four instalments. When the Center asked for more time to pay, the Supreme Court called the letter contrary to its decision and said that the ministry was withdrawing the letter first, then it would consider giving more time.
Supreme Court. (Photo: The Wire)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that the Ministry of Defense cannot take the law into its own hands by issuing a letter to pay the dues of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) in four installments.
According to Indian Express, along with the above words, the Supreme Court asked the ministry to immediately withdraw its January 20 letter.
In the circular published by the Centre, it was said that the OROP payments would be paid in 4 instalments.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, when the Center informed the top court that it has paid one installment of OROP dues to ex-servicemen but needs more time to clear the dues It said the bench, ‘ First, withdraw your letter of January 20 on the payment of OROP payments, then we will consider your request for more time.’
The bench said that the Ministry of Defense’s letter on January 20 was completely contrary to the court’s decision and the ministry cannot unilaterally say that it would pay the OROP payments in four installments.
The court asked the Attorney General to prepare a note specifying the amount to be paid, the methods to be adopted and the priority clauses for the payment of arrears.
The bench said, ‘We want to see some sort of distribution and that the arrears should be paid first to the old people. More than four lakh pensioners have died since the litigation began.
The court made the observations while hearing an application filed by the Indian Veterans’ Movement (IESM) through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, seeking to quash the defense ministry’s January 20 communication.
The Supreme Court had on February 27 objected to the letter issued by the secretary of the ministry and directed him to file a personal affidavit explaining his position.
The bench said, ‘You tell the secretary that we are going to take action against him for the January 20 communication. Either take it back, or we are going to issue a contempt notice to the Ministry of Defence. The sanctity of the judicial process must be maintained.
Significantly, in January, the government had moved the Supreme Court, seeking to extend the time till March 15, 2023, for the payment of OROP scheme payments to all eligible pensioners of the armed forces.
According to LiveLaw, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, said, “They (the ministry) have given four applications seeking an extension of time, now they are seeking more time.” This is very wrong. They have enough money for other things but no money for pensioners. Four pensioners have lost their lives. ,
The next hearing in the case will be on March 20.
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