The Ministry of Defence was pulled by the Supreme Court today for its statement about the payment of arrears under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) to eligible retired Armed Forces personnel in four instalments. The government was urged to “get its house in order” by a bench chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who also threatened to issue a contempt notice if the notification wasn’t withdrawn.
“The orders of the Supreme Court regarding OROP needs to be followed. Why was the decision taken to pay the arrears in instalments despite the court order?” asked the Supreme Court.
A group of ex-servicemen filed a petition with the court asking that the Centre be instructed to pay the arrears in one installment rather than four. According to the group of ex-servicemen, four lakh pensioners have passed away while the petition was pending.
The Supreme Court had ordered the Center to pay the armed forces pensioners’ back arrears by March 15 on January 9, 2023. The Defense Secretary did, however, announce a few days later, on January 20, that the department would pay the arrears in four instalments.
The secretary has now been instructed by the bench to submit a personal affidavit outlining his views.
At the hearing, the Chief Justice firmly asserted that “court proceedings must be fair.” “It is a system of law, not a battle. Make your house look tidy “Added he.
After the Holi vacation, the Supreme Court has now posted the case
Attorney General R. Venkataramani, the lawyer for the centre, stated during the hearing on January 9 that he would “follow the matter personally and make sure the arrears are paid soon.”
The list, according to him, was “with the finance section of the Ministry of Defence” and was in the final stage of screening.
The Supreme Court granted the centre a second extension on March 15 to pay the arrears after it first requested one in June of last year, asking for three months to calculate and make payments in accordance with the top court’s decision on March 16, 2022.
The verdict from November 7, 2015, according to the judgement, said that the OROP benefit will start to take effect on July 1, 2014, and that “in future, the pension would be re-fixed every five years.”
“Arrears payable to all eligible pensioners of the armed forces shall be computed and paid over accordingly within a period of three months,” the top court had said in its verdict.
Regardless of the date of retirement, OROP is awarded to military personnel who leave the service at the same rank and with the same amount of service.
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