Sanjha Morcha

HC restores pension parity of Army, Frontier Force

R Sedhuraman,Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, January 29The Delhi High Court today restored the parity between the Special Frontier Force (SFF) and Army personnel by removing the January 2009 cut-off for the payment of retirement benefits and service pension.A Bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Deepa Sharma delivered the verdict on a PIL by the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Union.Holding that the cut-off was an impermissible classification, the HC ruled that there was no justification why this differentia was introduced as SFF retirees had performed the same duties while in service and in fact they were being treated on a par with Army personnel since 1985. The SFF consists of Nepali and Tibetan nationals.“The mere ipse dixit that the Union government would be burdened with greater monetary liability rings hollow if seen from the perspective that lump sum payment meant a larger one-time payout, whereas monthly payment spreads liability rather than aggregates it,” the HC said.The high court directed the government to issue a circular to the effect that 45 per cent of the commuted equivalent of pension would be restored to all pre-January 1, 2009 retirees, upon the completion of 15 years from the date of their superannuation. The payments should be made within four months.The Bench noted that the government had acknowledged that the SFF personnel had made “outstanding contribution” to the nation’s defence and security. Their service and sacrifice was of the same order as Indian nationals serving in the Army. About 5,730 SFF personnel were discharged after 15 years of service since 2008.