NFU was a provision recommended by the 6th Pay Commission to give financial parity to officers in Organised Group ‘A’ services two years after their counterparts in IAS are promoted to higher levels, even if they themselves are not promoted

Vijay Mohan

The Ministry of Defence has invited representatives of Armed Forces personnel to present their viewpoint on the grant of Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) for the defence services, an issue pending for many years.

Following directives by the Supreme Court, a high-level committee set up by the government to re-examine the issue has fixed January 5 as the date to hear the claims and arguments put forward by the representatives in support of NFU. Defence services are the only government organisations to have been denied NFU, which grants higher financial benefits to officers who do not get promoted.

In its last hearing in the matter on December 11, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi had observed that the Central Government has constituted a committee consisting of the Financial Advisor (Defence Services) as its chairman, with Joint Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, a representative of the Department of Expenditure and a representative of the Department of Personnel and Training as members to re-look the claim of the Armed Forces personnel.

“Let needful be done within two months. Needless to say that while the committee re-examine the issue, the respondents/representatives be afforded an opportunity of hearing,” the bench directed. The case is scheduled to be heard next on February 25.

A letter sent to the respondents by MoD on January 1 states since a high-level committee has been constituted by MoD to conduct a fresh and exhaustive review of the case for grant of NFU to Armed Forces personnel, the committee has decided to give an opportunity to the respondents for an interaction.

NFU was a provision recommended by the 6th Pay Commission to give financial parity to officers in Organised Group ‘A’ services two years after their counterparts in Indian Administrative Service (IAS) are promoted to higher levels, even if they themselves are not promoted. The purpose was to reduce career stagnation and pay gaps. While all Group A services, including the para-military forces, have been granted NFU, the Defence Services have been left out, leading to prolonged litigation.

In December 2016, the principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal, in a detailed judgement in Col Mukul Dev vs Union of India that also clubbed numerous similar petitions, had directed the government to implement NFU for the defence services.

The tribunal’s bench comprising Justice BP Katakey and Lt Gen Sanjiv Langer had then ruled that the denial of NFU to Armed Forces personnel by the government had been unfair, evasive and without valid justification, which has resulted in iniquitous treatment to the defence services. Given their steep pyramidal hierarchy, stagnation in the defence services is the highest amongst any government organisation.

The Central Government appealed against the tribunal’s orders before the Supreme Court in 2019, contending potential disruption to the defence forces’ unique command structure. The government had also averred that the defence forces are not classified as Organised Group ‘A’ Service and are treated separately.