Current Events :
Sri Lanka reached a historic milestone as Parliament voted 154–2 to scrap the 49-year-old law providing pensions to Members of Parliament. This decision marks a major shift toward fiscal accountability, answering public calls for reform. By eliminating these lifelong perks, the government is signaling a new era that puts national development ahead of political privilege. we also wish similar law in India
Msg from Brig IM Singh, President IESL :8th Central Pay Commission CPC
Msg from Brig IM Singh, President IESL.👇
The 8 CPC has called an IESL rep for a meeting on 8 CPC issues on Tuesday 21 Apr at Delhi.
I have nominated Maj OP Choudhary, Mob 9711606828; Mail ID op_choudhary03@yahoo.co.in.
He has successfully fought the case of Majors in AFT Chandigarh, who have suffered since 6 CPC. He’s fully knowledgeable about the cases of Capts, Majs and Lt Cols.
IESL has also forwarded various issues to AGs Branch. These will also be intimated to him.
Please give this wide publicity. Any Veteran wishing to convey any point please do so directly to him.
Brig Inder Mohan Singh (Retd)
President IESL.
18 Apr 26.
Ending an over three-decade-long ordeal for Indian Air Force Squadron Leader R Sood, who was wrongfully terminated from service for alleged use of criminal force against a junior officer, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restored his honour.
A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice KV Viswanathan concluded that disproportionate punishment was given to the ex-squadron leader on September 22, 1993 while his commanding officer, a wing commander-rank officer whose order Sood followed, was let off leniently. It directed the Centre to pay him arrears of salary and allowances to the extent of 50% from September 23, 1993 till the scheduled date of his retirement.
The incident occurred in 1987, at the time when Sood was posted as ‘Senior Operation Officer’ in a remote village in the Thar desert and stationed in a building belonging to the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF).
“…justice demands that the ignominy with which the appellant (Sood) had to survive the past more than three decades is obliterated, the wrongful termination of his service be revoked and his honour restored,” the Bench said, setting aside the September 22, 1993 order of his dismissal from service.
“Appellant could not work beyond September 22, 1993 admittedly because of the illegal order of termination and not owing to any fault on his part,” it noted.
Irrespective of service benefits, restoration of honour remains the foremost concern of defence personnel. We restore it with the direction that on a date to be fixed by the Chief of Air Staff, the appellant shall be signed off in the normal manner he would have otherwise been entitled to, but for the order of dismissal,” the top court said, seeking compliance of the order in three months.
It said for notional promotion his case may be placed before the Review Departmental Promotion Committee as per the governing rules for consideration and he has to be given pensionary benefits as admissible to him in law.
“The financial benefits due and payable in terms of this order, including increased pay subject to notional promotion being accorded, be calculated and paid to the appellant with interest at 9% per annum from the date of presentation of the writ petition before the High Court (an unspecified date of 1995, but the exact date must be gathered by the respondents from the records) till date of payment,” it ordered.
The Bench said that since Sood, having crossed the age of superannuation, cannot be reinstated in service but in law, was entitled to claim all consequential service benefits which would have accrued to him, had he not been fastened with such illegal order of dismissal.
It set aside the order of the high court which upheld the disciplinary proceedings against Sood. Finding fault with the order of termination of service, the Bench said Sood’s superior officer was visited with the penalty of “severe displeasure for three years” whereas he was ordered to be dismissed from service. It said the court finds it imperative to bear in mind that queries were repeatedly raised as to the rationale for imposing such a comparatively lenient punishment upon the senior officer while punishing the appellant with dismissal.
“The punishment of ‘displeasure’ was imposed on the Wg Cmdr before he had superannuated. It is not for us to question the government, in the course of these proceedings, why the Wg Cmdr was let off leniently; however, the question that certainly looms large is why was the appellant singled out for a harsher punishment despite his discharge from the criminal case?” the Bench said.
Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old Indian-origin court interpreter who has lived in the United States for 35 years, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas, prompting a legal battle over her continued custody.
Batra was reportedly arrested by plainclothes ICE agents at Harlingen International Airport on March 17 while travelling to Milwaukee for an immigration court assignment. She is currently being held at a detention centre in Raymondville, Texas.
According to her lawyers, Batra had valid work authorisation under a decades-old “withholding of removal” order, which protects individuals from being deported to countries where they may face persecution. However, it does not provide permanent residency or cancel an earlier deportation order.
Batra moved to the US as a child in the late 1980s after her parents were killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh violence in India. Over the years, she built a career as a certified interpreter and is said to be Texas’s only licensed court interpreter for Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Her legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition in a Texas federal court, arguing that her detention is unlawful and violates due process protections. They are also seeking to prevent her transfer to another facility and have requested her immediate release.
The petition alleges that Batra was held for nearly 24 hours without food or water after her arrest and has faced inconsistent medical care while in custody. Her lawyers said she is recovering from recent surgeries and has also developed a respiratory illness.
Batra’s son, who recently enlisted in the US military, has submitted a parole application on her behalf that could allow her to remain in the country temporarily.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Batra has a final removal order dating back to 2000 and will remain in custody pending further proceedings. The government has until April 21 to respond to the petition.
China has set up a new county in its volatile Xinjiang province near Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Afghanistan border in an apparent move to beef up security along the narrow Wakhan Corridor to curb infiltration of Uyghur separatist militants.
The county, named Cenling, is located near the Karakoram mountain range and close to the borders with PoK and Afghanistan, underscoring its strategic significance.
This is the third new county established by China in Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim Uyghur region, in just over a year.
India last year lodged a protest with China over the creation of Hean and Hekang counties, stating that parts of their jurisdiction fall within its union territory of Ladakh.
Hean includes much of the disputed Aksai Chin plateau, which is part of Ladakh occupied by China in the 1962 war and has remained a focal point of the India-China border dispute.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government announced the establishment of Cenling on March 26, though details of its administrative divisions and exact boundaries were not specified.
It will be administered by Kashgar prefecture, according to a report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
Kashgar, a historic city located on the ancient Silk Road, is a strategic gateway connecting China with South and Central Asia.
It is also the starting point of the controversial USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through PoK and has been opposed by India.
Experts say the creation of Cenling reflects Beijing’s growing focus on border security and governance.
Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies in Shanghai-based Fudan University, said the move “reflects China’s deeper recognition of the strategic importance of this region”.
“At a broader level, the decision signals China’s emphasis on its borderlands,” Lin was quoted as saying by the Post.
He noted that the new county is geographically connected to Afghanistan’s narrow Wakhan Corridor, a 74-km strip bordering Xinjiang that separates Tajikistan and PoK, highlighting China’s security and counterterrorism concerns.
Beijing in past has expressed concern about Uyghur militants of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) using the Wakhan Corridor as a route to enter Xinjiang from Afghanistan.
Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre in Washington, said the new county represented a drive towards a “stronger grass-roots level government structure for effective governance and control”.
“It helps to strengthen the stabilisation efforts by the government in the frontier region, which is traditionally more subject to ethnic turbulence and potential infiltration of foreign militants from Central Asia,” she said.
A total of 108 police personnel underwent training by the Army to enhance coordination and operational synergy in the dynamic security environment of Jammu and Kashmir.
A Joint Counter-Terrorism Refresher Course for J&K Police personnel, conducted under the aegis of the Tiger Division, concluded on Saturday.
The course, held from April 7 to 18, was jointly conceptualised by the senior leadership of the Army and J&K Police with the aim of enhancing operational coordination, synergy and standardisation of procedures.
“A total of 108 police personnel underwent intensive training conducted by Miran Sahib Brigade. The training focused on strengthening junior leadership capabilities, which are critical for effective execution of small team operations in counter-terrorism scenarios,” an Army spokesperson said.
During the course, participants were trained in a wide spectrum of operational aspects, including small team operations and patrolling, quick reaction team and mobile vehicle check post drills, ambush and counter-ambush techniques, cordon and search operations and room intervention procedures.
Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi during the Indian Navy Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi. PTI
Instability in West Asia and the linked disruptions to maritime traffic are a reminder that distance from a conflict does not ensure immunity from its consequences, said Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi on Wednesday.
He was addressing the top brass of the Navy at the Commanders’ Conference and added “concurrent conflicts and increased capabilities create a highly contested space for the Navy on a day-to-day basis”.
The conference conducted in New Delhi reviewed the impact of the conflict in West Asia on maritime readiness and the role the Navy played in ensuring energy security. Navy played a major role in the safe transit of merchant ships moving out of the Persian Gulf.
Highlighting the impact of the ongoing conflict, both economic and military, Admiral Tripathi said it was also about shaping of perception of the conflict building narratives, and not just operational outcomes.
The Navy Chief stressed various aspects have caused the maritime security environment to reach an inflection point. The three day conference (April 14-16) has the senior naval leadership and the Navy Chief commended the force for safeguarding India’s maritime interests including energy security, amidst ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, addressed and interacted with the Naval Commanders on matters pertaining to changing geo-political orders, and urged the Navy to plan for rapidly evolving character of war, including economic and technological factors.
The conference discussed operational highlights including salient issues pertaining to jointness, capability enhancement, maintenance, training, foreign cooperation indigenisation.
The Navy Chief highlighted the achievements of the Navy in its journey towards becoming a combat-ready, credible, cohesive, and future-ready force.
Admiral Tripathi highlighted there has been a significant increase in the operational deployment of naval platforms over the past five to ten years. He highlighted upgradation and augmentation of war-fighting capabilities in the surface, sub-surface, and air domains, supported by major infrastructural developments, robust maintenance practices.
The Navy is the middle of various technology-intensive capability developments that have taken place, along with those in various phases of development and induction, including incorporation of artificial intelligence in the operational framework.
Australia today released its ‘National Defence Strategy for 2026’ and named India as its ‘top-tier’ security partner and ‘most important’ defence partner. The document on national defence strategy, an update over the previous one in 2024, was released by the Australian Defence Ministry today. It said, “India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and our most important defence partner in the Northeast Indian Ocean.” The Northeast Indian Ocean is central to the safety of Australia’s sea lines of communication that are used by mercantile shipping, including for transporting crude oil, gas, and coal.
Australia’s interests lie in a stable region that is well-disposed to Australia, the national defence strategy said.
The Australian Government said it will continue to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation with India that enhances collective strength and directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability. The two sides have Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and are also partners in the Quad along with Japan and the US.
Australia also said it will ‘continue to support’ India’s key role in the region and build interoperability by increasing the depth, complexity, and frequency of defence cooperation.
“The Government will continue to pursue opportunities with India to drive practical bilateral and multilateral cooperation across all domains, defence industry cooperation, and information sharing,” the document said.
The Australian defence strategy also said that, in addition to engagement with India, the Government’s defence engagement in the Northeast Indian Ocean region will continue to focus on regularising the presence of Australian defence forces, including deployments, training, and exercises.
This would include regional maritime domain awareness, defence industry engagement, and education and training cooperation. The Quad remains a vital diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the US.
“Australia will seek to expand cooperation between Australia, India, Japan, and the US to advance regional peace, security, and prosperity,” it said, adding this includes strengthening maritime domain awareness, operational interoperability, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response cooperation.
The Australian Defence Ministry also put out an ‘Integrated Investment Programme’ that reaffirmed the longstanding practice of providing a 10-year funding model for defence. This funding model will provide defence, including the Australian Signals Directorate, Australian Submarine Agency, and Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator, with total funding of USD 887 billion for a ten-year period till 2036.
The total funding of USD 887 billion over the decade includes around USD 425 billion in allocated funding for the capabilities set out in the 2026 Integrated Investment Programme.
