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Thursday, September 21, 2017

SC refuses to stay AFT order on special perks for troops

Plan was only allowed for civilian staff
·         NFU entitles civilian officers to get the pay scale of the highest

·         promoted officer of their batch even if they are not promoted

·         The civilian officers, however, would get NFU two years after the promotion of their batchmate

·         The purpose of this scheme, unique to the Indian establishment, was to alleviate stagnation

·         Vijay Mohan
The Supreme Court has declined to stay the judgment of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) granting non-functional upgradation (NFU) to members of the armed forces on the same lines as it was granted to civilian Group-A services a few years ago.

The scheme was not extended to the armed forces and central armed police forces (CAPF), following which their officers sought judicial intervention. A serving Army officer, Col Mukul Dev, had moved the AFT contending that the armed forces fulfilled the criteria laid down for being considered in Group-A service. He averred that it had not only affected the morale of thousands of defence officers, but also lowered their stature vis-à-vis civilian officers while violating Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The AFT had, in December 2016, allowed Col Dev’s petition along with that filed by other officers. The Union Government moved the apex court against the judgment earlier this year and the matter had been pending over some technical issues. 
The Supreme Court’s Bench did not issue any notice to the parties today and fixed October 26 as the date for final arguments the petitioner’s counsel, Col Rajiv Manglik (retd), told The Tribune. “This can imply that there is now no bar on the government to grant NFU to the armed forces,” he added.


Representing the government, Solicitor General Ranjit Singh had sought a stay on the AFT judgment on the grounds that similar petitions concerning CAPFs were still pending. 

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/sc-refuses-to-stay-aft-order-on-special-perks-for-troops/470113.html

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