The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre time till March 15 to implement the one rank, one pension (OROP) payout to nearly 25 lakh army pensioners, who are awaiting their due since the top court asked the government in March last year to fix their pensions and pay the amount by June 15.
“By the end of February, payment will be ready for disbursal, and by March, it shall be cleared,” said attorney general R Venkatramani, who appeared for the central government. The Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Allahabad, has completed the tabulation of the 25 lakh pensioners, which is pending approval by the defence ministry, he added.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha recorded this statement in its order and said: “Time is extended till March 15.”
This is the second extension granted to the Centre. The first extension of three months was granted on September 16.
Concerned over the delay in implementing the judgment, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, along with advocate Balaji Srinivasan appearing for the defence pensioners, said: “There is a letter issued by the Ministry of Defence in January that they may release the amount in four instalments. Since the case began, nearly four lakh pensioners have died awaiting to receive their due. The government should consider paying the entire amount in a single instalment.”
“It is a bit of problem on the outflow, as obviously some amount has to go into modernization (of the army),” the bench said. Considering the plight of the elderly petitioners, the bench requested Venkatramani to “try if they can be paid expeditiously and not delayed due to instalments.” The attorney general assured that the matter was under his close watch.
The judgment of the top court came on a petition filed by the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, which challenged the Centre’s November 7, 2015, notification that announced equal pension to military personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of the date of their retirement.
This policy was to be effective from July 1, 2014. Those who retired before this cutoff, the pension will be calculated based on their salary drawn in 2013, while those after this date, their last drawn salary was taken as the reference point.
The court upheld the notification and said that the OROP decision was not arbitrary, and being a policy matter, courts should not examine it. As per the November 2015 notification, pension had to be fixed after every five years.
“Arrears payable to the eligible pensioners of armed forces shall be computed and paid over accordingly within a period of three months,” the court had said.
In its application seeking time, the defence ministry said, “Various types of pension tables are required to be prepared by Controller General of Defence Accounts, which itself is a time consuming process and needs further extension of time up to March 15, 2023.” The Centre clarified that the delay in implementing the judgment of the top court was neither deliberate nor intentional.