Hindustantimes

War-injured to get maximum pension?
HT Correspondent.
NEW DELHI: The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has come to the help of war-injured soldiers and directed the government to consider a maximum of the pay scale for an officer while fixing his war injury pension.
The tribunal headed by Justice A.K. Mathur also advised the government not to differentiate between a short service commissioned officer and a permanent officer while granting death-cum-retirement gratuity (DCRG).
The tribunal accepted the plea of the petitioner Disabled War Veterans and held: "We strongly feel that it is a matter which requires a serious consideration of the Government that a person whose career has been sacrificed for safeguarding the Indian border and he is to be treated in such a poor way that he is being paid war pension on the basis of minimum of the scale of that rank. Therefore, looking yeoman service rendered by incumbent, he should be given a fair treatment."
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Aiswarya Bhatti criticised the present government practice and said a war injury cut short an officer's service, forcing him to retire permanently. Therefore, she said, it would be harsh and unfair to the soldier if his maximum pay scale were not considered for determining the amount of war injury pension.
Observing that the discrimination on the basis of an officer's service violated Article 14 of the Constitution, the tribunal added: "Once the Short Service Commission officers and the Permanent Service Commission officers fight on the border shoulder to shoulder, they form same class and no further distinction can be made... and if unfortunately both of them receive an injury and they are disabled then no distinction can be made in payment of DCRG."
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Tribunal puts army in dock- says different benefits for similar injuries is disremation:Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Tribunal puts army in dock- says different benefits for
similar injuries is discrimination
NEW DELHI: When a bullet coming from the other side of
the border does not distinguish between a commissioned
and non-commissioned officer in the Army, how can the
government do so when it comes to grant of death-cum-
retirement gratuity (DCRG), wondered the newly-constituted
Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) headed by a retired Supreme
Court judge. In a major order that would assuage the long-
standing grievance of the officers, both commissioned and
non-commissioned, AFT principal Bench comprising
chairperson Justice A K Mathur and member Lt Gen M L
Naidu said this discrimination in payment of DCRG was
violative of Article 14 (right to equality) guaranteed under
the Constitution. A petitionfiled by the Disabled War Veterans
(India) through counsel Aishwarya Bhati had made two major
grievances — one relating to the difference in payment of DCRG
and the other regarding computation of pension for a disabled
soldier. Bhati had alleged that the government takes into
account the minimum payscale in the rank of the disabled
soldier to compute the war injury pension to him and had
requested AFT to direct the Centre to consider taking into
account the highest pay in the rank for the purpose. AFT agreed
on both counts with the counsel. On DCRG, it said once the
short service commission officers and the permanent service
commission officers fight on the border shoulder-to-shoulder
, they formed the same class and no further distinction can be
made. "Once they form the same class and they are fighting
shoulder-to-shoulder against the enemy and if unfortunately
both of them receive an injury and they are disabled then no
distinction can be made in the payment of DCRG," the AFT
said asking the government to take serious note of the anomaly
and review the policy forthwith. "We cannot give them benefit,
but we can only request the government that this payment of
DCRG on the basis of distinction between short service
commissionand regular service commission is highly
discriminatory. We hope and trust that the government will
remove thisdiscrimination which is apparent on the face of it,
" it said. Coming to computation of war injury pension, the
AFT said the cause of injury which disabled a soldier and cut
shorthis career was beyond the control of the personnel and
such persons should be treated fairly by being given war injury
pension on the basis of the highest pay in the rank. "We feel
strongly that it is a matter which requires serious consideration
of the government that a person whose career has been sacrificed
for safeguarding the Indian border and he is to be treated in such
a poor way that he is being paid war disabled pension on the
basisof minimum of the scale of that rank," the AFT Bench
said. "The maximum scale of that rank should be considered
for determining the amount of war injury pension," the AFT
said disposing of the petition by the Disabled War Veterans.
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob.09554-09128,Tele-Fax 0175-5000896.

Disability benefits for pre-2006 pensioners-Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service : Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Disability benefits for pre-1996 pensioners.

Vijay Mohan:Tribune News Service.

Chandigarh, January 31.Following the recommendations of

the Committee of Secretaries, the government has partially

modified regulations for disability pension and extended

benefit of broad-banding of disability percentage to those

invalided out of serviceprior to January 1996.The cap on

war injury pension, restricting the same to themaximum

of last drawn emoluments for personnel invalided out in

Category ‘E’, also stands removed. The orders to this effect

were issued by the Ministry of Defence on January 19 after

financial sanction for the same was accorded earlier this

month.The benefits of broad-banding of disability

percentage and removing the cap on war injury pension

were recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission. These

were, however, extended only to those invalided out of

service in1996 or after, thereby putting similarly placed

persons left service earlier at a disadvantage.While the

partial modification has been welcomed by veterans as

a positive development,some officers and legal experts

point out that the benefits have been extended only to

those individuals, who were invalided out of service and

not to those who retired on completion of their terms of

engagement.

In the case, Paramjit Singh Vs Union of India, the Punjab

and Haryana High Court, has alreadyheld this disparity

to be arbitrary.

Regulations now themselves provide that for the purposes

of disability pension, persons placed in low medical

category at the time of retirement are deemed to be invalided

out of service.The different treatment between invalided and

superannuating personnel, according to lawyers dealing in

the pensionary matters, seems strangein view of the fact that

broad-banding or rounding-off disability percentage was

introduced to curb medical subjectivity because it was felt

that different medical boards were providing different

percentages of disability for similar ailments.

Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Mob.098554-09128,Tele-fax 0175-5000896.

Revision of Disability /War Injury Element of Pension:Veteran Prabhjot Singh PLS Retd.

Dear veterans ,
Regards.Find below a copy of letter regarding Disability/
War Injury Element of Pension.
No.10 (01)/D (Pen/Pol)/2009/Vol.IIGovernment of India,
Ministry of Defence,
Department of Ex-Servicemen WelfareNew Delhi
Dated 19th Jan, 2010.
To
The Chief of the Army Staff
The Chief of the Naval Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff

Subject: Revision of Disability/War Injury Element of pension
in respect of Armed Forces Officers and PBOR pensioners
based on the recmmendations of Cabinet Secretary Committee
Report.

Sir,
The undersigned is directed to state that the in order to
consider various issues on pension of Armed Forces
Pensioners, Government had set up a Committee headed by
the Cabinet Secretary. The reommendations of the said
Cabinet Secretary’s Committee on disability/war injury
pension have been considered by the Government and the
President is pleased to decide that with effect from 1.7.2009,
the concept of broad bandiing of percentage of disability/war
injury, as provided in Para 7.2 of this Ministry’s letter
No 1(2)/97/D(Pen-C) dated 31.01.2001, shall be extended to
Armed Forces Officers and PBOR who were invalided out of
service prior to 1.1.1996 and are in receipt of disability/war
injury pension as on 1.7.2009. Wherever, the disability being
accepted as less than 20% at initial stage or subsequent stage
on reassessment of disability, the same will continue to be
disallowed and such cases will not be re-opened.

2. Further, the President is also pleased to decide tht the
cap on war injury pension with reference to emoluments last
drawn in the case of disabled pensioners belonging to category
‘E’ of Para 4.1 of this Ministry’s above mentioned letter dated
31.1.2001, shall stand removed with effect from 1.7.2009 for
Armed Forces Officers and PBOR pensioners. The provision
contained in Para 8 of this Ministry’s letter No PC 1(2)97/
D(Pen-C) Dated 16.5.2001, Para 10.1(b). of this Ministry letter
No. 1(2)/97/D(Pen-C) dated 31.1.2001 and para 6.4 & 7.4 of
this Ministry’s letter No. 16(6)/2008(2)/D(Pen/Pol) dated
5.5.2009, shall stand modified to that extent.
3. The disability/war injury element of pension in all such
cases shall be recomputed accordingly under these orders
by the Pension Sanctioning Authorities (PSAs) concerned for
regulating payment under this Ministry’s letter No. 16(6)/
2008(1)/ D(Pen/Policy) dated 4.5.2009 and letter No. 16(6)/
2008(2)/D(Pen/Policy) dated 5.5.2009. For this purpose,
each affected Armed Forces pensioner who is in receipt of
disability/war injury element of pension as on 1.7.2009
will submit an application in the format enclosed as
Annexure to this letter to PSAs concerned for revision of
disability/war injury element of pension in terms of Para
1 and 2 above, as the case may be. Further implementation
instructions to all concerned will be issued by PCDA
(Pensions) Allahabad immediately on reeipt of these orders.

4. Revision of war injury element of pension in respect of
those who have been retired/discharged/invalidated out
of service on or after 1.7.2009 under category ‘E’ and in
whose case war injury pension has already been notified
in terms of this Ministry’s above mentioned letter dated
5.5.2009, will be carried out suo-moto by PSAs concerned
by issue of corrigendum PPOs without any application from
the concerned pensioners.

5. This issues with the concurrenc of Finance Division of
this Ministry vide their U.O.No. 51/Fin/Pen dated
08.01.2010.
Hindi versoin will follow.
Yours faithfully,
Sd xxx(Harbans Singh)Director (Pension Policy)
Encl: a/aCopy to : - As per standard distribution list.
----------
Annexure
(Referred to Para 3 of MOD letter No 10(1)/2009/D(Pen
/Policy) dated 19.1.2010)
FORM OF APPLICATION
(To be submitted IN TRIPLICATE by Armed Forces
disability pensioners invalided out prior to 1.1.1996 and
war injury pensioners invalidated prior to 1.7.2009 and
those released after 1.1.2008 but before 1.7.2009 and
drawing disability/war injury element of pension as on
1.7.2009)
To (Pension Disbursing Authority)
..........................................................................

Sub: Recomputation of disability/war injury element of
pension drawing pension as on 1.7.2009
Sir,
With a view to recompute my disability/war injury element of
pension in terms of Ministry of Defence letter No 10(1)/2009/
D(Pen/Policy) dated ........ 2009, the requisite particulars are
given below : -
1. Name of the pensioner
2. Rank/group and Regt No/IC No
3. Date of Enrolment/Commission
4. Date of invalidment
5. Type of pension admissible
6. PPO No/Corr.PPO No underwhichdisability/war injury
element of pensionon invalidment was notified.
7. Percentage of disability for whichdisability/war injury
element is being drawn as on 1.7.2009
8. Amount of existing disability/warinjury element being
drawn as on 1.7.2009
9. Amount of existing service element ofdisability/war
injury element being drawnas on 1.7.2009
10. Pension Disbursing Agency (Payingbank branch with
SB/Current A/c No/Treasury/DPDO/PAO
11. Name of applicant if the application isbeing made on
behalf of pensioner forLife-Time Arrears (LTA)
12. Address of the family pensioner/applicant
Date:
(Signature of Pensioner/Applicant)
..... 2
-2-
PART II
(To be completed by the PDA of the pensioner)
The particulars mentioned above are verified with
reference to pension account held and forwarded to the
Record Office .............................................. (full address) in
the case of PBOR and PSAs concerned ...............................
................ (full adress) in the case of commissioned officers.
No ......
Date .....

(SIGNATURE)Rubber stamp of Pension Disbursing Authority
PART III
(To be completed by the Record office of the pensioner)
Verified and forwarded to the PSAs concerned ..................
...............................(full address)
No ......
Date .....
(SIGNATURE)Rubber stamp of Pension Disbursing Authority
Address of Pension Sanctioning Authorities:
Army, Navy & Air Force Officers
1. The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts
(Pensions)Draupdighat, Allahabad – 211014.
For such Naval and Airforce officers who retired from
service on or after 1.11.1985
2. The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Navy)
2, Cooper Road, Mumbai – 400039.
3. Jt Controller of Defence Accounts (AF)Subroto Park,
Delhi Cantt – 110010.



No.10 (01)/D (Pen/Pol)/2009/Vol.IIGovernment of India,
Ministry of Defence,
Department of Ex-Servicemen WelfareNew Delhi
Dated 19th Jan, 2010.
To,The Chief of the Army Staff
The Chief of the Naval Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff

Subject: Revision of Disability/War Injury Element of
pension in respect of Armed Forces Officers and PBOR
pensioners based on the recmmendations of Cabinet
Secretary Committee Report.

Sir,
The undersigned is directed to state that the in order to
considre various issues on pension of Armed Forces
Pensioners, Government had set up a Committee headed
by the Cabinet Secretary. The reommendations of the
said Cabinet Secretary’s Committee on disability/war
injury pension have been considered by the Government
and the President is pleased to decide that with effect
from 1.7.2009, the concept of broad bandiing of
percentage of disability/war injury, as provided in
Para 7.2 of this Ministry’s letter No 1(2)/97/D(Pen-C)
dated 31.01.2001, shall be extended to Armed Forces
Officers and PBOR who were invalided out of service
prior to 1.1.1996 and are in receipt of disability/war injury
pension as on 1.7.2009. Wherever, the disability being
accepted as less than 20% at initial stage or subsequent
stage on reassessment of disability, the same will
continue to be disallowed and such cases will not be
re-opened.

2. Further, the President is also pleased to decide the the
cap on war injury pension with reference to emoluments
last drawn in the case of disabled pensioners belonging
to category ‘E’ of Para 4.1 of this Ministry’s above mentioned
letter dated 31.1.2001, shall stand removed with effect from
1.7.2009 for Armed Forces Officers and PBOR pensioners.
The provision contained in Para 8 of this Ministry’s letter No
PC 1(2)97/D(Pen-C) Dated 16.5.2001, Para 10.1(b). of this
Ministry letter No. 1(2)/97/D(Pen-C) dated 31.1.2001 and
para 6.4 & 7.4 of this Ministry’s letter No. 16(6)/2008(2)/
D(Pen/Pol) dated 5.5.2009, shall stand modified to that
extent.
3. The disability/war injury element of pension in all such
cases shall be recomputed accordingly under these orders
by the Pension Sanctioning Authorities (PSAs) concerned
for rgulating payment under this Ministry’s letter No.
16(6)/2008(1)/ D(Pen/Policy) dated 4.5.2009 and letter
No. 16(6)/2008(2)/D(Pen/Policy) dated 5.5.2009. For this
purpose, each affected Armed Forces pensioner who is in
receipt of disability/war injury element of pension as on
1.7.2009 will submit an application in the format enclosed
as Annexure to this letter to PSAs concerned for revision of
disability/war injury element of pension in terms of Para 1
and 2 above, as the case may be. Further implementation
instructions to all concerned will be issued by PCDA
(Pensions) Allahabad immediately on reeipt of these orders.

4. Revision of war injury element of pension in respect of
those who have been retired/discharged/invalidated out
of service on or after 1.7.2009 under category ‘E’ and in
whose case war injury pension has already been notified in
terms of this Ministry’s above mentioned letter dated
5.5.2009, will be carried out suo-moto by PSAs concerned
by issue of corrigendum PPOs without any application
from the concerned pensioners.

5. This issues with the concurrenc of Finance Division of
this Ministry vide their U.O.No. 51/Fin/Pen dated 08.01.2010.
Hindi versoin will follow.
Yours faithfully,
Sd xxx(Harbans Singh)Director (Pension Policy)
Encl: a/aCopy to : - As per standard distribution list.
----------
Annexure
(Referred to Para 3 of MOD letter No 10(1)/2009/D(Pen/
Policy) dated 19.1.2010)
FORM OF APPLICATION
(To be submitted IN TRIPLICATE by Armed Forces
disability pensioners invalided out prior to 1.1.1996 and
war injury pesnioners invalided out prior to 1.7.2009 and
those released after 1.1.2008 but before 1.7.2009 and
drawing disability/war injury element of pension as on
1.7.2009)
To (Pension Disbursing Authority)
..........................................................................

Sub: Recomputation of disability/war injury element of
pension drawing pension as on 1.7.2009
Sir,
Wit a view to recompute my disability/war injury element
of pension in terms of Ministry of Defence letter No 10(1)/
2009/D(Pen/Policy) dated ........ 2009, the requisite
particulars are given below : -
1. Name of the pensioner
2. Rank/group and Regt No/IC No
3. Date of Enrolment/Commission
4. Date of invalidment
5. Type of pension admissible
6. PPO No/Corr.PPO No under which disability/war injury
element of pension on invalidment was notified.
7. Percentage of disability for whichdisability/war injury
element is beingdrawn as on 1.7.2009
8. Amount of existing disability/war injury element being
drawn as on 1.7.2009
9. Amount of existing service element ofdisability/war
injury element being drawnas on 1.7.2009
10. Pension Disbursing Agency (Payingbank branch with
SB/Current A/c No/Treasury/DPDO/PAO
11. Name of applicant if the application is being made on
behalf of pensioner for Life-Time Arrears (LTA)
12. Address of the family pensioner/applicant
Date:
(Signature of Pensioner/Applicant)
..... 2
-2-
PART II
(To be completed by the PDA of the pensioner)
The particulars mentioned above are verified with
reference to pension account held and forwarded to
the Record Office ..............................................
(full address) in the case of PBOR and PSAs
concerned ............................................... (full adress) in
the case of commissioned officers.
No ......
Date .....

(SIGNATURE)Rubber stamp of Pension Disbursing Authority
PART III
(To be completed by the Record office of the pensioner)
Verified and forwarded to the PSAs concerned ..................
...............................(full address)
No ......
Date .....
(SIGNATURE)Rubber stamp of Pension Disbursing Authority
Address of Pension Sanctioning Authorities:
Army, Navy & Air Force Officers
1. The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions)
Draupdighat, Allahabad – 211014.
For such Naval and Airforce officers who retired from service
on or after 1.11.1985
2. The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Navy)2,
Cooper Road, Mumbai – 400039.
3. Jt Controller of Defence Accounts (AF)Subroto Park,
Delhi Cantt – 110010.

Improvement of Disability Pension for pre-06 retirees :Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd

Improvement of Disability Pension for pre-06 retirees :
Orders partly issued-Navdeep
The Govt of India has issued certain orders regarding
disability pension in pursuance to the recommendations
of the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet
Secretary.The benefit of rounding-off / broad-banding
of disability percentage has now been extended to pre-
1-1-1996invalided personnel also. The provisions of the
earlier Govt of India letter dated 31 Jan 2001 which
provided a cut-off date of 1-1-96 for the said benefit, stand amendedaccordingly.The cap on War Injury Pension
restricting thesame to the maximum of ‘last drawn
emoluments’ for personnel invalided out in Category ‘E’
of the above mentioned letter dated 31 Jan 2001 also stands
removed.The orders on calculating disability element on a
percentage basis have not been issued as yet.The benefit of
rounding-off/broad-banding, like before, has only been
extended to persons who were ‘invalided out’ and not to those
who wereretired / discharged on completion of terms of
engagement or on superannuation. The Hon’ble Punjab
Haryana HighCourt in Paramjit Singh Vs UOI, while differing
with the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Lt Col PK Kapoor Vs UOI,
has already held this action to be arbitrary. Surprisingly,
neither the Petitioner nor the Govt had brought to the notice
of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Col Kapoor’s case that
Regulations now themselves provide that persons in Low
Medical Category at the time of retirement are also ‘deemed’
to be invalided out for the purposes of disability pension.The
different treatment between invalided and superannuating
personnel also seems strange in view of the fact that broad-
banding / rounding-off was introduced to curb medical s
ubjectivity since it was felt that different medical boards were
providing different percentages of disability for similar
ailments. To counter such assessment mistakes, the concept
of broad-banding of disability percentage was introduced.
Keeping this in view, it hardly makes any sense to deny broad-
banding to superannuating personnel while granting it to
invalided personnel since that would amountto saying that
medical subjectivity was only existing in medical boards
examining invalided personnel and notthose which were
examining superannuating personnel. This fact of the reason
behind broad-banding was hiddenfrom the Hon’ble Supreme
Court in Kapoor’s case and hence the judgement has no
binding effect on courts inferior being a judgement sub-
silentio. In fact, the judgement was rendered on the incorrect
statement of the Union of Indiathat broad-banding was
granted as a compensation to invalided personnel, a fact
that was sadly not countered by the Petitioner who was
appearing in person.
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob.098554-09128,Tele-fax 0175-5000896