
Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, October 19
Correcting an anomaly in the interpretation of rules for enhancement of pension, the Armed Forces Tribunal has directed the government to hike the emoluments of an 88-year-old retired Lieutenant General with effect from earlier dates.
The Tribunal’s orders could have ramifications for other retired officers over 80 years of age whose pension enhancement may have been prejudiced over the years due to the “incorrect” interpretation of Ministry of Defence (MoD) rules by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA).
In his petition, Lt Gen Gorakh Nath, who retired after 38 years of service, had contended that the MoD’s letter on the subject issued in November 2008 unambiguously stated that pension is to be enhanced by 20 per cent from 80 years of age, by 30 per cent from 85 years of age and by 40 per cent from 90 years of age.
However, while executing the letter, pension authorities used the phrase “on attaining and on completion” instead of “from”, which gave a completely different connotation to the eligibility criteria for grant of enhanced pension. This denied him enhancement of pension by 20 per cent for one year and then again by 30 per cent for another year, he had averred.
“It is more than clear from the terms of the policy that benefit was to accrue to the pensioners who have attained the age of 80 to 85 years and implementation of the word ‘from’ has been clearly used in the communication made by the MoD to the concerned authorities,” the Tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Anjana Mishra and Lt Gen PM Hariz, observed.
“The interpretation adopted by the PCDA, which is contrary to the policy as stated in the MoD letter defeats the spirit of the legislation so as to cause detriment to the beneficiaries, cannot be accepted by this tribunal as the correct interpretation to be adopted,” the bench ruled.
The Tribunal has directed the government to enhance the officer’s basic pension by 20 per cent for 12 months from the beginning till the end of 80th year of age, enhance the basic pension by 30 per cent for 12 months from the beginning till the end of 85th year of age, and grant six percent interest on the arrears payable to him.