SC relief to officers over pay anomalies

I WONDER: I HOPE IT WILL HAVE SOME POSITIVE IMPLICATIONS ON 6TH CPC TOO OR MAY BE WE MAY HAVE TO FILE A FRESH CASE TO CORRECT FIXATION OF 6TH CPC PAYS IN THE LIGHT OF THIS DECISION.

THE TRIBUNE

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100310/nation.htm#9

Ruling that rank pay forms part of basic salary, the Supreme Court, in a significant decision affecting thousands of armed forces personnel, granted arrears arising out of anomalies in the fixation of pay consequent to the Fourth Pay Commission.

Upholding an earlier High Court ruling, the apex court has also ordered that interest at the rate of 6 per cent be paid on the arrears. The Fourth Pay Commission recommendations were implemented with effect from January 1, 1986.

Legal experts are of the opinion that this would require re-fixation of pay based on the Fourth and in some cases Fifth Pay Commission. Though the calculation of the exact amount of arrears could be a time consuming and tedious exercise, some officers estimate that they could amount from several thousand rupees to a few lakh rupees, depending upon the rank and length of reckonable service of an individual.

After the Fourth Pay Commission, an integrated pay scale of Rs 2,300-5,100 was implemented for officers from the rank of second lieutenant to brigadier. In addition, rank pay ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,200 was authorised to officers from the rank of captain to brigadier, which was to be added into the basic pay for all intents and purposes.

However, while fixing the pay in the new scales, an amount equal to the rank pay was deducted from the emoluments resulting in financial loss to all affected officers. Hence all officers holding the rank of captain to brigadier as on January 1986 suffered cumulative losses.

Deciding a case filed by Maj AK Dhanapalan, the Kerala High Court had termed this deduction of rank pay as illegal. An SLP filed by the Union government against this order was also dismissed, though not on merits but on technical grounds of limitation.

Soon thereafter, many similar petitions were filed in various high courts all over the country. These were clubbed together and transferred to the Supreme Court to be heard along with an SLP of similar nature that had arisen out of a case that was allowed on the basis of the judgement in Dhalapalan’s case.

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the judgement in Dhalapalan’s case, delivered in 1998, and the apex court granted relief to all similarly placed officers. Some officers had also contended that incorrect fixation for pay in 1986 also had an adverse effect in pay fixation during subsequent pay commissions.

A large number of veterans and ex-servicemen’s organisations had also written to the defence minister and the prime minister in this regard. In their letters to the government, some veterans had estimated that about 40,000 to 50,000 officers, both serving and retired including widows would be directly affected. 

Military Murphy's Laws

SOURCE : INTERNET

MY FAVORITE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL INDIAN ARMY : "Professionals are predictable, its the amateurs that are dangerous."

1. Friendly fire - isn't.

2. Recoilless rifles - aren't.
3. Suppressive fires - won't.
4. You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
5. A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
6. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
7. Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
8. If at first you don't succeed, call in an air strike.
9. If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
10. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
11. Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
12. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
13. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
14. The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
15. The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
      a. When they're ready.
      b. When you're not.
16. No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
17. There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
18. Five second fuses always burn three seconds.
19. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
20. A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
21. The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
22. The easy way is always mined.
23. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
24. Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
25. Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.


FOR MANY MORE VISIT HERE : http://www.military-quotes.com/murphy.htm

OFFICER INTAKE CONTINUOUSLY FALLING.....

I WONDER : BOUND TO HAPPEN INSTEAD OF ADDRESSING CORE ISSUES WE ARE LOWERING SSB STANDARDS AND OPENING ANOTHER OTA IN BIHAR. LEAST REALISING THAT HR POLICY CLEARLY STATES "MONEY IS A NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT CONDITION TO ATTRACT AND HOLD CAPABLE CANDIDATES."

Officer Intake hits new low:


http://www.stratpost.com/armys-officer-intake-hits-new-low

Promotions IPS...

Eight 1996 batch IPS officers have been promoted to the rank of DIG in Andhra Pradesh. They are Mssrs S Bagchi, Charu Sinha, Anil Kumar,  VC Sajjanar,  N Sanjay, Ms Bhavana Saxena, Naveen Chand and  Surya Prakash.

AVS-2 BENEFITS INF AND ARTY ONLY........

STRATPOST

http://www.stratpost.com/50-lt-cols-promoted

The Indian Army’s results for the promotion of officers to the rank of full Colonel are out. The good news is that more than fifty per cent of infantry and artillery Lieutenant Colonels from the batch of 1994 will get their red collar dogs, with the increase in the number of vacancies due to the AV Singh committee’s recommendations. 55 per cent of the artillery officers and 53 per cent of the infantry officers under scrutiny have been promoted to the rank of Colonel.

Officers from the armored and mechanized infantry have not, however, benefited much from these recommendations because of the comparatively smaller number of vacancies available at the rank of Colonel. Less than 40 per cent of the 1993-batch armored officers under consideration have been approved.

While in infantry regiments there is a ratio of 21 junior officers to a Colonel, in armored regiments the proportion is roughly 26 junior officers to a Colonel.

Significantly, across all the arms and services, all officers having attended Technical Staff College courses at the Institute of Armament Technology in Pune have been approved for promotion. Also, more than 90 per cent of the infantry and artillery officers who have passed staff college courses at the Defense Services Staff College in Wellington have been promoted, with the figure swelling to 100 per cent in the case of armored officers.

The purpose of the AV Singh committee’s recommendations was to effect a general reduction in the age of the commanding officers of the units of the fighting arms.

But while this result has shown an increase in the number of officers getting promoted, there is still dissatisfaction at the number of officers who can no longer hope for further promotion. “Half the number of army officers still find their career progression blocked. In contrast to civil and police service officers, the army will still be a dead-end for many Lieutenant Colonels,” said one officer, who did not wish to be named, as he was not authorized to speak on this issue.

The percentage of Lieutenant Colonels promoted is only in the context of the existing officer strength of the Indian Army. This percentage would be diluted, and fall, if the army were to achieve its sanctioned officer strength of more than 45,000.

yesterday and today....

THE LINK IS HERE: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100227/jsp/bengal/story_12158367.jsp

Slain Capt let go cushy jobs to serve country

I WONDER : MUST READ FOR THOSE.... WHO FEEL THAT PEOPLE OPT FOR ARMY ONLY AS A LAST RESORT.  I SALUTE CAPT. DEVENDRA SINGH , INFORMATION WARRIOR TURNED PARA COMMANDO......

THE TIMES OF INDIA

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Slain-Capt-let-go-cushy-jobs-to-serve-country/articleshow/5613687.cms

GHAZIABAD: He let go cushy offers from the corporate sector to serve the country. And true to his conviction, the 26-year-old laid down his life fighting terrorists in the insurgency-hit valleys of Jammu and Kashmir. The only son of his parents, Captain Devendra Singh (26) sacrificed his life in an armed encounter with militants on Tuesday.

Though the martyr did his engineering and masters in business administration (MBA), he always cherished a dream to be a part of the Indian Army, said his shell-shocked but proud Bhupendra Singh. He joined the Army in 2007.

‘‘It was the happiest day of his life. Since he had an engineering background, he was inducted into the signals wing. But, his adventurous spirit took him to the para commandos. He volunteered to join it. I told him it involved a lot of risk, but he retorted: ‘I do not bother about any risk’,’’ recalled his father, who retired as a senior executive in the Ghaziabad-based firm, Dabur.

The grieving father said that he never came in the way of his son’s career choice.

‘‘Devendra, who did his schooling from Guru Harkishan Public School near India Gate in New Delhi, always wanted to be in the Army. I told him that he should simply pursue his passion. I never came in the way of his sister choosing her own career. And, she (Harpreet) has opted to become a professor at Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi,’’ said Bhupendra, adding that his son was also a great dancer and singer.

The late captain’s father said that his son came home to Indirapuram last October when his grandmother had passed away.
‘‘On Tuesday morning, I had a premonition that something was wrong with my son. And, at 7 pm, his commanding officer called to say that Devendra had died doing his duty,’’ he said.

Sopore: Militant gunned down, Army captain, 2 jawans killed

  THE HINDU

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article112097.ece

A militant was killed, while the Army lost a captain and two jawans in an encounter that began Monday night in Sopore, where “top militants” were holed up in two houses.

The area around two houses where the militants have holed up looks like a battlefield as a strong contingent of army personnel cordoned off the area with the help of razor sharp wires and armoured vehicles to not let the militants get away.

The extra measures have been taken following reports that the holed up militants are from top brass of different terror groups brought together by the ISI.

Flood lights were set up along the roads leading to the houses to prevent the militants from escaping in the cover of darkness. The locals of the town have been instructed to remain indoors as heavy exchange of fire is continuing from both sides since encounter started.

This is the fourth major encounter in the last one month in Sopore after it was declared a separate police division.