Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, February 14
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Centre to redress the glaring anomaly in pay of military officers wherein officers of the rank of a Major General and above were getting a lower pay and pension than officers of a junior rank.
Observing that it was adversely impacting the morale of the defence services, the Bench of Justice Fateh Deep Singh directed the government to resolve the issue within six months.
According to legal and military sources, there have also been a few cases where even an officer of the rank of a Colonel or equivalent is drawing higher pension than a Lieutenant General, which is three ranks higher.
The basis of the anomaly was the addition of the Military Service Pay (MSP) as an element of salary till the rank of Brigadier and equivalent, by the Central Pay Commission. Above the rank of a Brigadier, the MSP is subsumed and is not included as a separate element in the salary of a Major General and equivalent.
Consequently, officers junior in rank to a Major General get higher remuneration. Citing an example, a legal expert dealing with the issue, said while a Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier could get a salary of Rs 2,26,200, Rs 2,29,500 and Rs 2,33,100 respectively, after adding the MSP, the Vice-Chief of the Army staff, who holds the rank of a senior Lieutenant General, cannot get more than Rs 2,25,000.
“After adding the MSP, the pay scales of a Lieutenant Colonel to a Brigadier exceed those of a Major General and a Lieutenant General. The pay anomaly further affects the pensions of the retirees too,” said a lawyer.
The then Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley, who also held the portfolio of the Finance Minister, had addressed the anomaly but the final orders resolving the issue were not issued by the government because the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance and the Department of Personnel and Training kept writing to each other over the issue and failed to reach a consensus on the methodology to be adopted.
Experts on the subject said the order should affect all similarly placed officers and not just the litigants before the High Court. A large number of Major Generals have already moved the Armed Forces Tribunal on the issue.
A similar situation had arisen after the implementation of the Fourth and Fifth Pay Commissions, which were ultimately resolved with the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court.
Military Service Pay key factor
- Officers of the rank of a Major General and above are getting a lower pay and pension than officers of a junior rank.
- The basis of the anomaly is the addition of the Military Service Pay (MSP) as an element of salary till the rank of a Brigadier and equivalent, by the Central Pay Commission.
- Above the rank of a Brigadier, the MSP is subsumed and is not included as a separate element in the salary of a Major General and equivalent
Pay anomaly: Centre told to resolve issue within 6 months
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