| Registration Number | : | PMOPG/E/2016/0324624 |
| Name Of Complainant | : | MBC MENON |
| Date of Receipt | : | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Received by | : | Prime Ministers Office |
| Forwarded to | : | AG1 |
| Contact Address | : | room No. 104, B Wing, Sena Bhawan |
| New delhi | ||
| 110011 | ||
| Grievance Description | : | Ref: NFOESM/7th PAY/109/2016 Dated: 02/09/2016 Shri. Narendra Modi, Hon. Prime Minister of India Dear Sir, It has been brought to our notice by the print media that the implementation of 7th CPC benefits to soldiers are held up due to the objection raised by the three chiefs of Armed forces. The objections are reported to have been in respect of higher pay for officer’s equivalent to their counter parts in civil. Along with this they have also recommended for a little increase in Military service pay for JCO’S only leaving behind a large section of OR’s to reduce the outgo by which their demand can be accepted without any objection by the exchequer . This is nothing but a bargaining better pay for officers only using the entire soldiers as shield. The chiefs are officers who have taken pledge to look after the welfare of those who placed below them above their own interest. The hike in Military service pay for JCO’S only as reported to have been recommended by them is likely to cause discontent among the OR’S. We are not against officers getting higher pay equivalent to their counterparts in civil it is a legitimate demand but it should not be at the cost of poor soldiers by asking them to shut their mouth. We request your god office to study the case before taking a final decision on the recommendation of Chiefs enhance the Military service pay of entire OR’s JCO’s equivalent to Nursing officers who are less exposed to risk than soldiers who are very much exposed to danger to their life in battle field, living conditions in high altitude like Siachen, in fighting cross border terrorism in times of natural calamities Thanking you MBC MENON CHAIRMAN NATIONAL FEDERATION OF EX-SERVICEMEN E-MAIL: nfoesm@gmail.com CC to: Shri.Manohar Parikkar, Hon:Defence Minister of India |
| Current Status | : | CASE CLOSED |
| Your Feedback | : |
Poor
|
| Date of Action | : | 05 Jan 2017 |
| Details | : | The 7th Pay Commission, an expert body, after due examination recommended Military Service Pay (MSP) at different rates for Officers and PBORs, keeping in view the various factors. The Govt, after due examination, has accepted the recommendations of the 7th CPC, vide Resolution dated 5th September 2016. |
Friday 6 January 2017
PMO GRIEVANCE REPLY
Wednesday 4 January 2017
Orop: 99% pensioners will get benefits by January-end, says Manohar Parrikar
New Delhi: Defence Minster Manohar Parrikar
on Tuesday said that around 20 lakh pensioners have been paid the
benefits of One Rank One Pension (Orop) so far, and more than 99 percent
of cases will be settled by January-end.
"So
far, we have already paid the benefits to more than 19,70,000
pensioners. Around 68,000 pension cases were in scrutiny in December.
The targeted time schedule was end of December and 13,000 cases are sent
to pension dispersing authority," Parrikar said at a press conference.
"With that I think almost 99 percent of the eligible cases will be settled probably by January. One percent is not being able to trace them, probably dead," the minister said.
Parrikar said he has "instructed all the agencies to go and find out such cases".
"Rs 6,300 crore has already been dispersed as arrears and the current payments are ongoing for the current period. Total back arrears will be around Rs 10,800 crore of which Rs 6,300 crore has been disbursed," he said.
Orop for retired armed forces personnel was announced on 5 September, 2015.
The scheme took 2013 as the base year to calculate pensions and date of implementation was 1 July, 2014. The period for review was kept at five years.
First Published On : Jan 3, 2017 20:59 IST
Manohar Parrikar. File photo. PTI
"With that I think almost 99 percent of the eligible cases will be settled probably by January. One percent is not being able to trace them, probably dead," the minister said.
Parrikar said he has "instructed all the agencies to go and find out such cases".
"Rs 6,300 crore has already been dispersed as arrears and the current payments are ongoing for the current period. Total back arrears will be around Rs 10,800 crore of which Rs 6,300 crore has been disbursed," he said.
Orop for retired armed forces personnel was announced on 5 September, 2015.
The scheme took 2013 as the base year to calculate pensions and date of implementation was 1 July, 2014. The period for review was kept at five years.
First Published On : Jan 3, 2017 20:59 IST
Tuesday 3 January 2017
In New Year, services await revised pay
Defence sources said that the government had in principle agreed to most of the core concerns expressed by the services.
As the New Year sets in, there is disgruntlement in the military as they are yet to receive their revised pay under the Seventh Pay Commission (SPC). This is because the issue is held up pending resolution of the core concerns raised by the services with respect to their civilian counterparts in the SPC recommendations.Defence sources said that the government had in principle agreed to most of the core concerns expressed by the services but stated that the issue being complicated it would take some more time.
“The issue is currently being discussed between the Defence and Finance ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. A decision will be taken at the earliest,” a source observed.
Letter to PM, Parrikar
The three Chiefs had written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the discrepancies which were not cleared by the empowered committee appointed to look into the issue. “The finance wing of the Ministry sought the financial implication of these concerns from the services two weeks ago.” another source stated.Around the same time, the Lavasa committee, appointed to look into the issue of allowances under the SPC, held its 7th meeting. “The Defence Ministry has largely supported the concerns of the services,” the source added.
The services had on several occasions raised four core concernswhich they perceive reduce the status of the armed forces with respect to their civilian counterparts. These include Non Functional Upgrade (NFU), NFU pay fixation, Military Service Pay (MSP) and common pay matrix for civil and military.
Ahead of Diwali in November the
Government approved a one-time 10 per cent interim relief for military
personnel for a period of 10 months from January to October 2016 pending
resolution of the issue.
×Monday 2 January 2017
PROCEDURE FOR FILING AN RTI REQUEST
Your Adhikar
How to file a successful RTI !
So we all know that RTI can be great tool
but a lot of us actually have never filed an RTI and don’t know how to
file an RTI. Here I try to explain the procedure of filing an RTI in a
simple manner. I hope it helps.
RTI Filing Procedure:
RTI can be filed in any Government
Department or any Government aided institution. A citizen can demand
any information or any public record, or photocopy of the record.
1. Find out the PIO (Public Information Officer) details from the website of the organization.
2. Write a simple application addressed to the PIO and state clearly your questions.
3. RTI – Fees Rs.10
(a) Attach an IPO (Indian Postal Order) or
DD (Demand Draft) of Rs.10 along with the application or pay the cash
amount of Rs.10 in treasury and get challan (receipt).
(b) If you are living abroad then a Rs 10
DD from any bank will work. Just do the conversion for that time and
keep the DD amount a little bit more than Rs 10.
(c) If u had asked for any photocopies of
documents, they will calculate the fee and demand it from u. So it’s
better to send DD or IPO of some extra amount initially with the
application itself.
(d) The information on whom the
check/draft/IPO should be addressed to is available on almost all
government website. For example in case of CVC it is to “Section Officer, CVC”.
4. RTI – Sending Options
(a) Send it through Normal Post or Speed Post or Registered Post or in person.
(b) It is not compulsory but it is
advisable to send by Speed Post or Registered Post because you will have
a proof (receipt) of your posting.
(c) You can also have the tracking report
of your speed post by visiting indiapost.gov.in [It will give u the full
detailed report of your speed post - The day it was dispatched, the
route it followed & date of reaching its destination.]
(d) RTI Application can be sent Free of
Cost by BPL (Below Poverty Line) people. You need to attach photocopy of
your BPL Card along with the application.
(e) If possible also send an email of RTI
Application to PIO’s official email ID displayed in the website on the
same date. The clock starts ticking from the moment the email is sent
(not opened). It isn’t a valid application till it is accompanied by the
proper fee. That’s the whole trouble with online applications. The Fees
(Rs.10) along with RTI Application can be sent by post subsequently,
but the time limit starts from the day the email is sent/received.
(e) To avoid any delay include a fully paid self addressed envelope with the application.
PIO – Reply Time & Fine
PIO – Public Information Officer is responsible for the RTI reply.
Every PIO is bound to reply within 30 days of receipt of the application, if he delays without any justified official cause or gives wrong information, he can be fined upto Rs250/ daily upto Rs.25,000 with a way of deduction from his salary.
Every PIO is bound to reply within 30 days of receipt of the application, if he delays without any justified official cause or gives wrong information, he can be fined upto Rs250/ daily upto Rs.25,000 with a way of deduction from his salary.
RTI Reply Time
Generally [30 Days] , Life & Death Case Reply Time [48 Hrs]
Generally [30 Days] , Life & Death Case Reply Time [48 Hrs]
IPO (Indian Postal Order)
IPO is similar to the size of your bank cheque. You can purchase it from any post office by paying Rs.10. You need not to fill any form to purchase it. Tear off the Left Part of IPO & keep with you as a proof of purchasing. Mention the following on IPO on specified space on Right Side.
IPO is similar to the size of your bank cheque. You can purchase it from any post office by paying Rs.10. You need not to fill any form to purchase it. Tear off the Left Part of IPO & keep with you as a proof of purchasing. Mention the following on IPO on specified space on Right Side.
To, PIO (Public Information Officer)
Organization Name and Address
From,
Your name and address.
Organization Name and Address
From,
Your name and address.
RTI Application – Format
To,
PIO (Public Information Officer)
Organization Name with Address
Organization Name with Address
Subject: Application for information under the Right to Information Act.
Sir,
Please provide the following information with respect to the following questions.
Q1. What was the Cut off (Minimum marks
obtained by a candidate) in Each Section to be called for the Interview
in all categories (General, SC, ST, OBC, PH) for the examination held on
– ?
Q2. What was the Cut off (Minimum marks obtained by a candidate) in Total (Written + Interview) to be called for the Final Selection in all categories (General, SC, ST, OBC, PH) for the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ?
Q3. What were the Highest Marks in Each Section by a candidate in the examination held on – ?
Q4. What were the Highest Marks in Total (Written + Interview) by a candidate in the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ?
Q5. What were the marks obtained by me in Total (Written + Interview) in the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ? – (Write Your Roll No or Registration No.)
Q2. What was the Cut off (Minimum marks obtained by a candidate) in Total (Written + Interview) to be called for the Final Selection in all categories (General, SC, ST, OBC, PH) for the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ?
Q3. What were the Highest Marks in Each Section by a candidate in the examination held on – ?
Q4. What were the Highest Marks in Total (Written + Interview) by a candidate in the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ?
Q5. What were the marks obtained by me in Total (Written + Interview) in the examination held on – & Interview Held on – ? – (Write Your Roll No or Registration No.)
Signature of the applicant
Full Name:
Address:
Email ID:
DD or IPO No:
Date:
Place:
Full Name:
Address:
Email ID:
DD or IPO No:
Date:
Place:
Please find the following attachment (2 IPOs of Rs.10).
1- Rs.10 IPO for the RTI application.
2- Another Rs.10 IPO for the documentation and the other expenditures for the same work.
1- Rs.10 IPO for the RTI application.
2- Another Rs.10 IPO for the documentation and the other expenditures for the same work.
RTI – Points to remember
Use proper format if prescribed by government under its RTI rules.
Visit if available, website of the government office, whose information is required and study RTI section.
Pay correct amount of fee by proper mode of payment as prescribed in RTI rules.
Send application with fee by regd or speed
AD post. Avoid submitting in person. Avoid courier also. Do not address
in personal name of Public Information Officer. Use official designation
as Public Information Officer.
Framing query is very important part of
application. Do not ask questions as to why, when, who, whose, how etc.
Instead ask for certified photocopies of records which contain the
information required by you. For example do not ask “why my application
is not attended so far?” Instead ask “Please provide me reasons on
record and certified copy of records containing reasons for delay in
attending my said application”.
Do not waste too much time and energy in
deciding which information can be asked and which cannot be. Just ask
whatever you want. If you ask you may get, if you do not ask, you may
not get. At the most Public Information Officer will say NO to your
query. You don’t have to quote any reason for seeking the information.
You can ask as many questions as u want in a single application but just
stick to one subject in one application.
Don’t mention your phone number in the RTI
application. Information conveyed over phone is not necessarily genuine
& you don’t have a record of it. Without the phone number, the
responsible department or PIO will be compelled to provide their
response in writing which could be used in pursuing the matter further.
You can ask for free copy of citizen
charter of govt. office to be supplied with reply. You can know many
things about that office.
Be crystal clear, firm and to the point but
at the same time be courteous. Give serial number to each query and
avoid essay type application.
Do ask for photocopy of file noting pertaining to your matter or application, even if you do not require.
If you know section of RTI act or decisions
of CIC/State Information Commission, which are in favour of your query
mention the same at the end of the respective query as [refer CIC
decision No.____________dtd.______or refer section _______of RTI Act.
etc].
RTI is not applicable in J&K; RTI is
not applicable to following Organizations – CBI, IB, RAW, NIA (National
Investigation Agency), Economic Intelligence Bureau, Aviation Research
Centre, NSG
Wrong or Incomplete Information or No Information
If you are not satisfied by the information
given by PIO within 30 days or if no information is given to you in 30
days then you can Appeal to Appellate Authority with previous records.
PIO can never reject the application on the
ground that the information is Detailed or Large. If the information is
detailed or large the RTI Act makes the provision of the inspection of
relevant documents, which is being asked by the person.
If you are not satisfied by the information
given by PIO & Appellate Authority (AA) within next 30 days or if
no information is given to you in next 30 days then you can Appeal to
Information Commission with previous records and then the date will be
fixed by the commission for a hearing and the notice will be served to
the concerned PIO and the Appellant to present on a fixed date.
AA (Appellate Authority) Vs PIO
PIO and Appellate Authority cannot be the same person. It is a clear violation of the RTI Act.
Section 19(1) of the Act says
“to such officer who is senior in rank to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer as the case may be, in each public authority”
Section 19(1) of the Act says
“to such officer who is senior in rank to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer as the case may be, in each public authority”
AA has to be an officer senior to the PIO
The AA must forward it to the PIO but the answer should be sought from the PIO and only the AA must sign the decision of the first appeal and not the PIO. The first appeal is a complaint against the PIO. The PIO therefore can’t settle or judge (and sign) a plaint against himself, as, in simple terms, nobody can be a judge of his/her own cause.
The AA must forward it to the PIO but the answer should be sought from the PIO and only the AA must sign the decision of the first appeal and not the PIO. The first appeal is a complaint against the PIO. The PIO therefore can’t settle or judge (and sign) a plaint against himself, as, in simple terms, nobody can be a judge of his/her own cause.
RTI – Rejection
Where a request has been rejected under
sub-section (1), the Central Public Information Officer or State Public
Information Officer, as the case may be, shall communicate to the person
making the request:
(i) The reasons for such rejection
(ii) The period within which an appeal against such rejection may be preferred
(iii) The particulars of the appellate authority.
RTI – Physical Apperance for Inormation
The PIO (Public Information Officer) &
AA (Appellate Authority) has no right to demand your physical appearance
for giving the Information. They cannot compel you to do so. They must
reply to RTI Application by written method only. Just wait for 30 days
and send the next letter to the Information Commission.
State RTI Act
There are many states in India where there
are State RTI acts. There are SICs (State Information Commissioner) for
those states. A person can ask for information through RTI Act 2005 or
through the State RTI Act. SICs are there for all states, except
J&K.
The categorization is that the public
authority funded by the state government is governed by the SICs while
the organizations funded by Central government in the same state are
under the jurisdiction of the CIC.
RTI in Recruitment Process
In many occasion it is observed that
recruitment discriminate the candidates or favour particular candidates
during interview by assigning marks arbitrarily.
By RTI, you can ask the photocopy of your OMR Sheet along with answer key.
There is a Supreme Court ruling that limits interview marks for selection to govt. departments to 15 % of total marks. If, in this selection procedure, the interview marks are above that, then it can be challenged.
Through RTI Act we may have information towards the criteria of assigning marks e.g. Qualification, Experience, Presentation etc. so that we expect at least minimum marks.
By RTI, you can ask the photocopy of your OMR Sheet along with answer key.
There is a Supreme Court ruling that limits interview marks for selection to govt. departments to 15 % of total marks. If, in this selection procedure, the interview marks are above that, then it can be challenged.
Through RTI Act we may have information towards the criteria of assigning marks e.g. Qualification, Experience, Presentation etc. so that we expect at least minimum marks.
I hope all this information can help you in
filing a successful RTI. Please follow up the blog to see more real
life examples of RTI files and replies provided by government agencies.
You can check out RTI question and replies at our index page:
http://youradhikar.com/rtis/
You can also search for RTI replies at: http://youradhikar.com/search
YourAdhikar Team
Sunday 1 January 2017
BETRAYAL OF MSP FOR JCOs / ORs WHO FACE LIVE BULLETS-: AN INHUMAN TREATMENT TO SOLDIERS
Armed Forces of a country is mirror image of the country, a happy Army means a happy nation alas the contrary is also true, in any case we as nation were ruled by Mughals, Britishers for centuries but have failed to learn our lesson. History is a teacher and time will again teach us to learn from history and past mistakes, but fools are known to commit the same mistake again and again. Will the Government take notice and act ? The media and veteran associations need to take these issues up for resolution. Ex Servicemen are completely disappointed with this 7th CPC. This is not pay commission but punishment commission. What are our Chiefs of the services doing?They are totally mum on this grave issue of 7th CPC. It's a clear disappointment for Jawan/JCOs. Discontentment with Jawan/JCOs is quite evident and not in the national interest. Jawan/JCOs have been given step motherly treatment with their status, pay and allowances. They have been deliberately lowered over the decades. Every points raised by service chiefs, pertains to officers only what for Jawan/JCOs ? We need a very strong, dedicated and loyal group of Veterans to fight for our demands. Are you ready? Yes, together we can. Jai Hind!
Our Sincere thanks to Veteran Anil Kumar Bhadula
Saturday 31 December 2016
Monday 26 December 2016
AFT allows petition seeking NFU for defence officers at par with Group ‘A’ services
In a verdict, which meets the long-standing demand of thousands of
defence services officers, the principal bench of the Armed Forces
Tribunal (AFT) in New Delhi has allowed a petition demanding
Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) for defence officers on the pattern of
civil services officers of Group ‘A’ services. The bench comprising the
officiating chairperson of the AFT, Justic BP Katakey and Lt Gen Sanjiv
Langer today delivered the judgement on the petition which had been
reserved some weeks back. Col Mukul Dev of the Army’s Judge Advocate
General’s (JAG) Branch was the principal petitioner in the case which
also has around 500 serving Army officers as co-petitioners.Speaking to The Indian Express, Col Rajiv Manglik (retd) advocate for the petitioners said, “NFU been allowed as given to defence officers on the pattern of civilian officers as given by the 6th Pay Commission and it will be applicable for all three services-Army, Navy and the Air Force. It has also been stated if NFU is implemented for civilians in 7th Pay Commission it will be given to armed forces officers also. The advocate also said that the bench has allowed arrears for NFU for a period not exceeding three years from the date of the judgement. “The AFT has also denied the leave to appeal in the Supreme Court to the respondents ie. the Union of India,” said Col Manglik.
The petitioner had contended that the morale of officers of the armed forces has been lowered by the government by non-grant of the NFU and thus lowering the established status of the armed forces officers since independence. He had also argued that the stagnation in the armed forces is more acute than the civil services and that the denial is in clear violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution “as the equals since independence have been made unequals”.
It was also argued that the purpose of grant of NFU is not to equate the monetary benefits or earnings enjoyed by a particular service, but it is granted with the aim to remove the stagnation due to the acute shortage of vacancies and grant parity of promotional avenues within the IAS with stipulated lead of two years to the IAS.
The petitioner had said that the parity established since independence and upheld by the pay commissions in succession between the armed forces and the All India Services/ Group ‘A’ services and IPS in particular has been disturbed and the petitioner has been deprived of the benefits extended to his counter parts in parity in the civil services.
It had been contended that the armed forces officers cadre meets all the attributes attached to the Group ‘A’ organised service. The petition says that the NFU has been denied on the pretext that Military Service Pay (MSP) has been given to armed forces officers. Citing this as a “gross mis-concept” the petition said that the grant of NFU is to alleviate the acute stagnation in service, whereas the MSP and other allowances is due to the postings at various difficult terrain and living conditions.
It was also pointed out that there are a number of Group ‘A’ services, which do not meet all the criteria for the group, yet they have been awarded NFU. The services mentioned are Indian Legal Service and Indian Trade Service, Indian Statistical service, Indian Economic service and Central Information service.
What is NFU?
Non Functional Upgrade (NFU) entitles an IAS officer and other Group ‘A’ services officers of the civil services to get the pay scale of the highest promoted officer of their batch even if he or she is not promoted to the same rank. This higher grade is given two years after the batchmate achieves the promotion. The aim of giving NFU is to alleviate the stagnation in the service due to non-promotion. Due to the steep pyramid of promotion in armed forces hierarchy, a large number of officers do not make it to the next selection rank. However, NFU has not been made applicable to armed forces. The Delhi High Court in its recent judgement has held that NFU is also applicable to officers of the central paramilitary forces.
© The Indian Express Online Media Pvt Ltd
Saturday 17 December 2016
ILLEGAL DEDUCTION OF INCOME TAX BY SBI
Law Office
of NAVDEEP SINGH
Advocate, Punjab &
Haryana High Court
Office-cum-Residence :
# 1063, Sec 2, Panchkula – 134112, Haryana
Phones : 099888-LEGAL,
093161-32817 Email : navdeepsingh.india@...
Your reference
:
Our
reference :
To:
Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD)
State Bank of India, Mumbai
01 September 2016
ILLEGAL DEDUCTION OF
INCOME TAX ON DISABILITY PENSION BY THE STATE BANKOF INDIA IN CONTRAVENTION OF
DIRECTIONS OF THE GOVT
1. Shocking
instances have come to light wherein your bank has indulged in deduction of
Income Tax at source in case of Disability Pensioners. On further inquiry, it
has been informed that the action is based upon some ‘advice’ rendered by a
Chartered Accountant that income tax exemption is only available to those
pensioners who have been invalided out before completion of their service for
normal pension, that is, those released earlier than 20 years in case of
Commissioned Officers and 15 years in case of ranks other than Commissioned
Officers, and that the said exemption is not available on the service element
of those who have been released/ retired/discharged with a pension after
serving more than 20/15 years of service as above.
2. Firstly,
your attention is invited to Instruction No 2/2001 issued by the Central Board
of Direct Taxes in this regard which amply explains the issue (Appx A).
Your attention is also invited to Paragraph 88.3 of the Pension Payment
Instructions issued to all your banks by the Government (Appx B) which
leaves no scope of doubt regarding exemption of income tax from the entire
disability pension, including service element. Moreover, the interpretation of
your bank in this regard is absolutely incorrect, absurd and militates against
the rules and norms promulgated by the Government as above. It may be recalled
that Income Tax exemption on complete disability pension is available to
defence personnel since the 1920s.
3. On
discussion, it emerges that the confusion has been created due to the
terminology of ‘Service Element’ which is hereby clarified for your benefit in
the following lines. Disabled personnel who are granted disability benefits at
the time of release from service are known as Disability Pensioners. The
said Disability Pension consists of two elements- service element and
disability element. Both elements taken together are known as Disability
Pension. There is no minimum qualifying service required for the grant of
Service Element with effect from 01 January 1973. The calculation of service
element however is different in cases of those personnel released from service
before completion of pensionable service limits vis-a-vis those who are
released on completing pensionable service limits. In case of the latter, the
service element is granted at a rate equal to Service Pension. The fact that
the pension granted for service in both cases is known as Service Element
becomes clear from a bare perusal of Regulation 183 of the Pension Regulations,
1961, which contains two clauses, that is, 183(1)(a) for those who are released
with sufficient service to earn a pension, and 183(1)(b) for those who are
released before completing sufficient service to qualify for normal service
pension. The said Regulation is enclosed as Appx C. Please note
from the Regulation that in both cases the service part of the pension is known
as Service Element. Even the normal service pension rates reflected under
Regulation 183(1)(a)(i) are categorized as ‘Service Element’.
4. The
fact that the service part of pension, whether a person is released prior to
completion of service limits or after completion of service limits (20/15
years), is known as ‘Service Element’ also becomes clear from a perusal of the
recent Circular No 554 (Appx D) issued by the Principal Controller of
Defence Accounts (Pensions) to all banks, including yours. Paragraphs 1(i) and
(ii) and then 1(iv) & 1(v) as well as Paragraph 6 of the same clearly
stipulate that in case of disability pensioners, the amount of service part of
the pension is known as ‘Service Element’ irrespective of the fact whether a
person has lesser or more than 20/15 years of service. In simple words, the
service element of pension in cases of those disabled personnel who have
completed pensionable limits is equal to normal service pension, but being
disability pensioners, it is nomenclatured as ‘Service Element’.
5. Even
otherwise, it would be important to point out that disabled personnel released
prior to completion of pensionable terms as well as those who are released on
completion of terms or at own request are all treated at par as far as
disability pension is concerned. In fact, all those who are in low medical
category at the time of release are to be treated as ‘invalided’ as per
rules (Also Appx C) as has also been held as per interpretation of
teh pre-existing rules by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in CW 2967/1989 Mahavir
Singh Narwal Vs Union of India decided on 05 May 2004 as affirmed by
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in SLP 24171/2004 on 04 January 2008 and also in the
recent decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civ Appeal 11208//2011 Union
of India Vs Angad Singh Titaria decided on 24 Feb 2015.
6. In
view of the above, you are requested to inform all your branches to cease and
desist from flouting guidelines of the Central Board of Direct Taxes in this
regard and direct them to honour income tax exemption on both service as well
as disability elements of disability pensioners as was being done till now. It
may be appreciated that the opinion of your Chartered Accountant cannot
override existing law and rules that have been followed since times immemorial.
7. You
are requested to issue directions to refund the illegally deducted amount to
all affected disabled pensioners within a period of 7 days from the receipt of
this letter.
Thanking You
Sd/-
Navdeep Singh
Advocate, High Court
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