The Military Service Pay (MSP) component introduced under the Sixth Central Pay Commission has been restricted to officers up to the rank of Brigadier. This created an anomalous situation whereby Brigadiers and equivalent rank officers in the Navy and Air Force started getting higher pay and higher pension than Major Generals

Over three years after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) directed the Union Government to step up emoluments of Major Generals who were drawing lesser pension than their immediate juniors at the level of Brigadiers, the Ministry of Defence, facing contempt notice from the High Court, has hiked the pension of 82 such affected Major Generals.

“Sanction of the Competent Authority is hereby accorded for conditional implementation of AFT (PB) New Delhi orders in Maj Gen Pay Anomaly cases in respect of applicants as mentioned at Appendix to this letter to step-up their pay retrospectively with effect from such date so as to bring it at par with their immediate juniors (Brigadier) and thereafter grant all arrears of pay retrospectively with effect from the date of assumption of Maj Gen rank till superannuation. The difference would be paid as ‘Personal Pay’ which would be treated as ‘Pay’ for all purposes,” a letter sent by Army Headquarters to the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts on August 31 states.

“Subsequently, pension to be fixed and all other consequential benefits including enhanced rate of leave encashment be granted to the applicants with effect from date of retirement along with applicable interest, if any from the date due till payment of arrears,” the letter adds.

The Military Service Pay (MSP) component introduced under the Sixth Central Pay Commission has been restricted to officers up to the rank of Brigadier. This created an anomalous situation whereby Brigadiers and equivalent rank officers in the Navy and Air Force started getting higher pay and higher pension than Major Generals.

A large number of officers moved the AFT, which by a common order in March 2023, ruled in favour of the affected Major Generals and equivalent ranks in the other services and directed the government to step up their pay and pension and ensure that under no circumstances they will receive lesser pay and pension than their immediate juniors.

However, the government did not implement the AFT’s order despite several execution orders issued by AFT. In one such case the government filed a writ petition in the Delhi High court challenging the AFT order.

“Though the High Court admitted the petition, it declined to stay the AFT judgement. The AFT issued an order directing the government to comply with the judgement conditionally after obtaining an affidavit from each petitioner that they would abide by the High Court order, if any, subsequently passed in the connected matter,” Col Indra Sen Singh (retd), counsel for some of the petitioners, said.

When the government still didn’t implement the AFT judgement despite all petitioners having rendered such undertaking in the form of affidavit, 82 affected Major Generals and some equivalent rank officers of Navy and Air Force filed a number of contempt petitions in the Delhi High court against the Defence secretary and Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) among others.

The High Court issued contempt notices to the concerned officers, directing them to comply with the AFT judgement by the next date or be present before the High Court to answer the contempt.

The Army Headquarters’ letter of August 31 states that the implementation of the AFT’s orders are subject to the outcome of the matter pending before the Delhi High Court or any further appeal before the Supreme Court.

Each retired officer shall submit a fresh undertaking that he will refund the entire amount so paid in accordance with any order passed by the High Court or the Supreme Court in the future.

Sources said that same orders have been issued for Navy and Air Force officers who have obtained similar orders from the AFT in their favour, but the hike is only for those officers who filed cases and not for all affected officers