It was 1987. General K. Sundarji was
in Pune, briefing senior Southern Command officers on the Fourth Pay
Commission, when a lowly captain asked an uncomfortable question. He wanted to
know why his basic had actually gone down, after the rank pay was introduced.
There was a buzz in the room. The chief told the captain to meet him
separately, he would explain the issue. He didn't seek private audience later. I
was too junior, chuckles
Major A.K. Dhanapalan (retd). He actually had no business rubbing
shoulders with senior officers that day, except that I was operating the
computer for the conference. But I hadn't got it wrong. I was right, bang on. The
Engineers officer chanced upon the anomaly when he was asked to work on
preparing the pay fixation of defence civilian setups, like Military
Engineering Service, on the Fourth Pay Commission template.
That year, the commission introduced a
rank pay for defence officers between the ranks of captain to brigadier, which
was 0200 at captain rank. But what it actually did was deduct the same amount
from the basic pay and give it as rank pay. Since, all emoluments are linked to
basic, not only was there no net gain, we were actually losing out, Dhanapalan
explains. He redid his calculations several times till he was convinced the
government had tricked the defence officers. He wanted to take the
matter to court, but I was in Pune and the High Court in Mumbai. Then, I got
posted to Udhampur, and the High Court was in Jammu. Next, I was transferred to
Port Blair....Dhanapalan
finally got his opportunity on being posted to Kochi in 1995. His office was
close to the Kerala High Court; it was time to make that move.
His colleagues were shocked at his
daring. His advocate, too, was not convinced. The court, however, understood
and ruled that the Union of India should pay the rank pay arrears and an
interest of 6 per cent. The matter went on appeal and a division bench of the
court upheld the judgment. The government took the matter to the Supreme Court
but had to eat humble pie when, in 2006, the court rejected its plea. He did
not stop there. The arrears, while welcome, were not his goal. His aim was to
alert defence personnel not to be lulled into complacency by the, you
are being looked after attitude of the establishment.
So he photocopied the verdict and
posted them to officers and clubs he had addresses of. That
itself cost me a bomb, he recalls. One such letter reached
Colonel B.K. Sharma. Sharma was the first officer to do motorcycle daredevilry
in the Republic Day parade in 1978. Post-retirement, he realised it was
daredevilry time again, this time to take on the government for which he had
once fought. He circulated copies of the judgment in canteens and clubs.
Knowing there was strength in numbers, some retired officers got together and
registered Retired Defence Officers' Association (RDOA) and filed a writ
petition in the Supreme Court in 2007. Meanwhile, across India, officers were
litigating for the same demand, and all the cases were finally clubbed together
before a division bench of Justices Markandey Katju and R.M. Lodha.
We
had not bargained for the level of resistance from the government. Instead of
conceding gracefully, they tried repeatedly to stonewall us, says
Sharma. When in 2010, the bench ruled that it agreed with the reasoning of the
Kerala High Court that rank pay be paid retrospectively, with 6 per cent
interest, the government filed a transfer petition before a bench of three
judges. The three service chiefs recommended to the solicitor general to
withdraw the litigation and honour the judgment. The defence ministry, however,
pressured the chiefs to withdraw their written communique. In a rare show of
defiance, the chiefs stood their ground. The RDOA had to file an RTI to confirm
the service chiefs' stance on the matter. They used every tactic, from pleading
inability to meet the financial burden to the solicitor general not appearing
in court, due to which proceedings would get postponed, recalls
Sharma.
This summer, when the court fixed the
last hearing day on September 4, we actually wrote to the law ministry that so
many officers had already died in the last 26 years. Delaying justice was not
fair, so either they withdraw the special leave petition or ensure the
solicitor general be present in court on September 4. The
final hearing was a marathon session. The government made a last ditch plea
that interest be paid only to litigants. The court refused. However, it reduced
the date of calculation of interest from 1986 to 2006 at 6 per cent, ordering
that it be paid within 12 weeks. This is a big victory, says
RDOA advocate Aishwarya Bhati. It gives a shot in the arm to all other
cases that the defence personnel have been fighting. According to RDOA, over
45,000 officers, retired and serving, will benefit, and it will also impact
pensions and widow pensions.
The amounts, Sharma calculates, will
range from around 06 to 01 lakh, depending on length of service and rank held.
The government claims it is a burden of 1,600 crore. It isn't
about money. We fought on principle and we have won our prestige, says
Sharma, but admits being flooded with congratulatory calls, all of them with
the suffix, mujhe kitna milega? (How much will I get?). How
did only Dhanapalan get wise to the anomaly? Faujis
are great at protocol, discipline and a hundred other virtues. Studying
payslips isn't among those, unfortunately. They usually don't question what
goes to the bank, or do the sums themselves, says Dhanapalan.
There
are many other issues with defence pay and entitlements, but defence personnel
say the government is changing tactics. Instead of risking its decisions being
challenged in court, it now procrastinates. The Sixth Pay Commission anomalies
are an example. Last heard, a four-member committee headed by the cabinet
secretary was appointed to look into the issue. Then Navy chief Nirmal Verma had
expressed anguish at no defence representative being on the committee.
Meanwhile, the man who ignited the spark sits back with a smile. The
government paid arrears only till 1996. I decided not to contest it, as by
then, RDOA took up the fight. There are fears the government might
give arrears only till 1996 to others, too. Our mission is accomplished. No longer
will faujis take at face value what is given to them. They have learnt to read
between lines, ask, and fight for their dues, says Dhanapalan,
getting ready to go to the temple.
Message
received from Maj AK Dhanapalan is sent for your for kind consideration.
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