Twice in the last fortnight, the Supreme Court has rapped the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on the knuckles and fined it for appealing against cases pertaining to grant of disability pension to veterans. The MoD was appealing against decisions of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). In its judgment, the Supreme Court remarked that the government must wake up to its duties and responsibilities.
The Court said, “the couldn’t-care-less and insouciant attitude of the Union of India with regard to litigation, particularly in the Supreme Court has gone a little too far”. It remarked that in this instance 10 lawyers and an additional solicitor general were involved which added to costs. Another aspect which should have been highlighted was the anguish and financial implications on the litigants, who are veterans with limited financial means.
This reflects poorly on the MoD which seeks to challenge judgments pertaining to disability pensions. Ironically the AFT functions under the MoD and its members are appointed by it alongside those from the law ministry.
The AFT comprises of retired judges of the high court advised on military matters by senior veterans. Thus, knowledge of law and complexities of service conditions are both considered before judgments are delivered, especially where disability is concerned.
Hence, challenging the judgment of the AFT is, in every case, in poor taste and is only intended to harass litigants, delay processing and prove that the bureaucracy dominates the uniformed. This contradicts the first comments made by Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman on assuming her appointment as defence minister, when she stated her priority would be veterans’ affairs.
While decision-making in the MoD may have been delegated and the power to appeal in the Supreme Court left to lower levels, it is evident that strong guidelines have not been laid down by the defence minister, to restrict officials from pursuing the easiest way out by appealing decisions, rather than adopting a humane approach.
The first and strongest action that she should adopt is to make the erring official who approved the decision to go to the Supreme Court pay not only the court fine but also bear the cost of lawyers’ fees. It would go a long way in opening eyes and changing attitudes within the ministry.
George Fernandes forced an immediate change in approach by threatening to move erring and irresponsible officials to Siachen. It brought him immense praise as it conveyed he was genuinely concerned with soldier welfare. It is only by being forceful can the minister bring about a change in the functioning of the MoD and its projection beyond the corridors of South Block.
The battle for supremacy between the uniformed and civil staff in service HQ continues, despite the withdrawal of contradictory orders of equating civil-military ranks. It is quite possible that due to a strong stand taken by service chiefs in November last year, additional vacancies allocated to the Armed Forces HQ civilian cadre have yet to be absorbed. This would have added to the rift, which is being reflected in other spheres. However, this is no reason for the MoD to question directions of courts.
Morale within the serving and veteran community is also the lowest since a long time, solely because of an unresponsive Ministry of Defence. The veterans continue to protest peacefully at Jantar Mantar for their rightful OROP, which is ignored.
The MoD continues to sit on the Reddy Commission report now for over a year and a half, with no announcement. A remark that the MoD is studying the issue leaves no one in doubt that it has no plans to enforce it or even push it to the ministry of finance, at least during the tenure of this government.
There are press reports that over 39,000 officers await the release of an increment due from 2006; most of them would be veterans. All these fall within the purview of the defence minister and by ignoring them she is proving the ‘couldn’t-care-less attitude’ stated by the Supreme Court.
The Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) case taken up by a serving soldier remains in the Supreme Court with a final hearing fixed for later this year, while the government refuses to pass orders that NFU does not imply a change in grade, which is a reality.
This has added to problems at working levels in those government offices where the uniformed and civilians operate jointly. The deputing of military legal fraternity alongside top legal luminaries to challenge the NFU in court, conveys that the MoD is unwilling to accept that armed forces also deserve equality.
Social media is abuzz with the anti-armed forces outlook being projected by the government. The trust which the military had on PM Modi to deliver and meet their aspirations, based on his promises in the Rewari rally in the run-up to the 2014 election has vanished, leaving instead a bitter taste. With an increased national support base to a military which, ‘has been protecting this nation for seventy years’ only increasing, support to a disdainful government would reduce, solely because of the approach of the MoD.
The present attitude of the MoD appears based on the premise that the serving and veteran community are too divided to present any formidable challenge in vote banks. However, they fail to realize that for every member of the military community there are many more close family members who would vote for an alternative, alongside true nationalists who love their armed forces. The ruling party is already losing its popular base, as recent by-elections have shown, gaining the wrath of the serving and veteran community may be disastrous.
The hypocrisy of the government is evident when it claims successful military operations launched in its tenure to seek votes but fails to grant equality and rightful dues to those who did them. This conveys the message that it would exploit anyone for votes but dump them when the task is done.
The faith and trust with which this government was formed is slowly eroding. Modi alone by his oratory may not be able to win the next election, unless he ropes in his ministries to change their attitudes and project a more people-friendly outlook. The first ministry to be targeted should be the MoD.
The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.