The Supreme Court in a landmark decision today has upheld
the order of the Armed Forces Tribunal wherein the discriminatory policy of
different retirement ages for the ranks of Group Captain (Time Scale) vis-a-vis
Group Captain (Selection Grade) was held illegal and struck down.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the
Ministry of Defence and the Air Force against similarly placed officers led by
Gp Capt Atul Shukla, and has concluded the following in strong words:
Suffice it to say that the
basis for classification in question for purposes of age of superannuation
which the appellant has projected is much too tenuous to be accepted as a valid
basis for giving to the Time Scale Officers a treatment different from the one
given to the Select Officers.
We are also of the view that
concerns arising from a parity in the retirement age of Time Scale and Select
Officers too are more perceptional than real. At any rate, such concerns remain
to be substantiated on the basis of any empirical data. The upshot of the above
discussion is that the classification made by the Government of India for
purposes of different retirement age for Time Scale Officers and Select
Officers does not stand scrutiny on the touchstone of Articles 14 and 16 of the
Constitution as rightly held by the Tribunal.
The above closes another yet long tumultuous journey of
affected officers. In fact, once the decision was rendered by the AFT, the Air
HQ should have taken up a case with the Govt for rationalizing the policy rather
than unnecessarily challenging it before the Apex Court.
It is high time that litigation against own employees is
considered on the touchstone of logic and equity rather than indulging in
ego-fuelled appeals. It is time for the political executive to take a call on
this and trample on the vicious cycle of luxurious litigation without
accountability
How unfortunate that even with the para in RED at the end of the
judgement, the MOD has found a dubious way of continuing litigation.
From Maj Navdeep Singh Blog
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