PUSHPA VANTIversusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

                  [201 O] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 784


A                         PUSHPA VANTI
                                  v.
                     UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
                (Writ Petition (c) No. 291 of 2010)

                       NOVEMBER 15,2010
B
    [MARKANDEY KATJU AND GYAN SUDHA MISRA, JJ.]

        ARMED FORCES:

c      Pension - Claimed by a widow of Army Major - Court
  noticing wide-spread discontent among the serving and former
  members of armed forces and their widows and family
  members regarding their service conditions, pension etc. and
  Jack of proper attention by bureaucrats to their grievances -
  Court appointed Armed Forces Grievances Redressal
0
  Commission - The term of the first Commission fixed for two
  years from the date of its constitution - The subsequent
  Commission shall be appointed by the Central Government
  - Directions about Headquarters and set-up offices of the
E Commission, sitting of the Commission etc given - It is made
  clear that the Commission swould be different from the Armed
  Forces Tribunal, in as much as the Commission would be a
  recommendatory body and not an adjudicatory body and
  would not be confined to following the relevant rules relating
  to service conditions, pension etc. but can recommend
F change of the same, if required - Claim of the petitioner shall
  stand referred to the Commission for its consideration
  expeditiously - Commissions and Inquiries - Setting up of
  Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission - Service
  Law - Pension.
G
        CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition (Civil) No.
    291 of 2010.

        (Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India).

H                                784
      PUSHPA VANTI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                  785


     Dr. Ramesh K. Haritash, B.B,. Trikha, Bansuri Swaraj,          A
Savita Devi (for Dr. Kailash Chand) for the Pettioner.

    Gopal Subramaniam SG, Anirudh Kumar, Subhash
Kaushik, Anil Katiyar for the Respondents.

     The following Order of the Court was delivered                 B

                            ORDER

    1. In this case we had issued notice to the respondents
on 17.9.2010 but no counter affidavit has been filed.               c
      2. The petitioner before us in the present case is a widow
Pushpa Vanti, whose husband was an army major who had
fought in three wars (in 1948, 1962 and 1965) and was
decorated with fourteen medals. However, the petitioner is
getting only Rs.80/- per month as pension, in these days when       D
a kilogram of arhar dal costs that amount. She has prayed for
fixation of her correct pension and arrears.

     3. The Indian armed forces are bravely defending the
borders of the country, often standing on guard at a height of      E
20,000 feet and in minus 30oC temperature, day and night so
that the people of India can live, work and sleep in peace.

      4. However, there is widespread discontent among the
serving and former members of the armed forces (by which we
mean the Army, Navy and Air Force) and their widows and             F
family members regarding their service conditions e.g. pay
scales, allowances, anomalies regarding pensions, inadequate
pension (particularly to those disabled while in service), widows
benefits, promotion matters (including promotion policy and
process) etc .. They have a feeling that the bureaucrats do not     G
care for them and do not properly address their grievances. As
a result, thousands of ex- armed forces personnel have returned
their medals, and some have even burnt their artificial limbs.

    5. These grievances include the grievances relating to pay,     H
    786    SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2010) 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A   allowances, one rank one pension, other pension matters,
    suitable benefits to be granted to war veterans, war widows,
    promotion matters, rehabilitation of soldiers who are discharged
    at a young age, etc.

B       6. In a recent panel discussion 'We The People' on NDTV
    channel some of these wievances were highlighted.

       7. Our courts of law are flooded with cases relating to
  members, both serving and retired, of the armed forces e.g.
  cases relating to pension, promotion, etc and the obvious
C reason is that the armed forces personnel have a feeling that
  their grievances are not being properly addressed.

       8. The great Prime Minister of Magadha, Chanakya, told
    Emperor Chandragupta Maurya :
D
       "Pataliputra rests each night in peaceful comfort, 0 King,
  secure in the belief that the distant borders of Magadha are
  inviolate and the interiors are safe and secure, thanks only to
  the Mauryan Army standing vigil with naked swords and eyes
  peeled for action, day and night, in weatherfair and foul, all eight
E praharas (i.e. round the clock), quite unmindful of personal
  discomfort and hardship, all through the year, year after year.

       To this man, 0 Rajadhiraja, you owe a debt: please,
  therefore, see to it, suo motu, that the soldier continuously gets
F his dues in every form and respect, be they his needs or his
  wants, for he is not likely to ask for them himself

         The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad
    day for Magadha; for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral
    sanction to be king!"
G
       9. Today our ex-soldiers have not only been demanding but
  are agitating to get their legitimate dues. They were compelled
  to resort to public protests and even return their War-medals
  and burn their artificial limbs, as was done by Capt. C.S. Sidhu
H whose right arm was amputated while serving at the front but
      PUSHPA VANTI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                      787


was getting a pittance as pension (see judgment of this Court           A
in Union of India & Anr. vs. C. S. Sidhu in Civil Appeal No.44 74
of 2005 dated 31st March, 2010). This, in our opinion, is not
good for the nation. The armed forces personnel should have
a feeling that their grievances are heard by an independent
body. Even if some of their demands are not accepted, they              B
will have a feeling that they were given a proper hearing.

     10. We, therefore, direct the Central Government to set up
within two months from today a Commission which shall be
called the Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission.
                                                                        c
     11. This Commission will look into any grievances (sent
to them in writing or by e-mail) by serving or former members
of the armed forces (i.e. Army, Navy and Air Force) or their
widows or family members and make suitable
recommendations expeditiously to the Central Government in              D
this connection.

      12. The Commission will also frame and recommend to
the Central Government a scheme for proper rehabilitation of
discharged soldiers. At present the position is that a soldier is       E
ordinarily recruited at the age of about 18 years, and if he does
not rise above the rank of Jawan he is discharged after 15 years
of service. If he is promoted, his tenure is extended on each
promotion. Thus, if he reaches the rank of Havildar but no further
he will retire after 22 years of service, i.e. at the age of 40. Thus
a soldier is retired when he is in the prime of life. During his        F
service he spends only about 2 months per year with his family.
There is no doubt a Resettlement Directorate in the Army
Headquarters, but we are informed that it is not a very effective
body. If a soldier is discharged between the age of 35-45 how
will he support his family ? At that age he is likely to have a         G
wife and children. Hence he should be given alternative
employment so that he can support his family. The Commission
will go into this matter also in detail and suggest appropriate
schemes for rehabilitation of ex-armed forces personnel who
                                                                        H
                                                              I
    788    SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A   are retired at a relatively young age.

         13. The aforesaid Commission shall consist of the
    following members :

          1.    A retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India as
B               the Chairman of the Commission.

                The first Chairman shall be Hon'ble Mr. Justice
                Kuldip Singh, former Judge, Supreme Court.

          2.    A former Chief Justice of the High Court as the Vice
c               Chairman of the Commission. The Vice Chairman
                will officiate as the Chairman in absence of the
                Chairman.

                The first Vice Chairman shall be Hon'ble Mr. Justice
D               S.S. Sodhi, retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad
                High Court.

          3.    A retired Chief of Army staff as a Member of the
                Commission.
E               We appoint General V.P. Malik, retired Chief of
                Army staff, to be a Member of the Commission.

          4.    Any retired Chief or Vice Chief or Deputy Chief of
                the Army, Navy or Air Force as a Member of the
F               Commission.

                      In the first Commission we appoint Lt. General
                Vijay Oberoi, retired Vice Chief of Army Staff, to be
                a Member of the Commission(General Oberoi is
                the Douglas Bader of the Indian Armed Forces, his
G
                one foot having been shot and later amputated due
                to a burst of machine gun fire in the 1965 lndo-Pak
                war, when he was a young Captain. Despite this he
                rose to become a Lt. General and Vice Chief of the
                Army).
H
     PUSHPA VANTI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                   789

      5.    A civil servant, whether serving or retired, as a       A
            Member of the Commission, to be appointed by the
            Central Government, at its discretion.   ·

     14. The term of the first Commission will be for two years
from the date of its constitution but it will be renewable at the   B
option of the Central Government. The subsequent Commission
members (after the two year term of the first Commission has
expired) shall be appointed by the Central Government.

     15. Since most of the aforesaid members in the first
Commission are based in Chandigarh hence we direct that the         C
headquarters of the Commission shall be at Chandigarh. For
this purpose a suitable building will be allotted at the earliest
at Chandigarh by the Union Territory of Chandigarh in
consultation with the Central Government which will be used as
the office-cum-secretariat of the Commission. This building         D
must have sufficient rooms to provide an office for each
member of the Commission. The Central Government will allot
adequate secretarial and other staff and infrastructure and
equipment (including computers, telephones etc.) for the office
and members of the Commission as desired by the Chairman.           E

      16. In addition to the headquarters of the Commission at
Chandigarh there will also be set-up offices of the Commission
at Delhi and such other places as the Chairman of the
Commission may direct. The Central Government and
concerned State Governments/Union Territories will provide the
                                                                    F
necessary staff and infrastructure as the Chairman may direct
for this purpose.

     17. All the members of the Commission shall sit together
whenever issues of general importance are to be considered.         G
However, in any matter relating to individuals or a few persons
only the Chairman can appoint a smaller Committee consisting
of one or more members as he decides.

    18. "As regards their salary, allowances and other benefits
                                                                    H
    790    SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2010] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

A the members of the Commission shall receive what the present
  incumbents holding posts equivalent to those held by them at
  the time of their retirement are now entitled to." They will also
  be given traveling and such other allowances as the Chairman
  decides if they have to travel to other places away from·
B Chandigarh. The fifth member, if a retired person, will also get
  the same.

         19. We make it clear that this Commission is different from
    the Armed Forces Tribunal in the following ways :
c         1.    The Commission is only a recommendatory body
                and not an adjudicatory body. Hence it is open to
                the Central Government to accept or not to accept
                its recommendations, though of course since such
                recommendations will be coming· from a high
D               powered body the Central Government must give
                due weight to the same.

          2.    Whereas the Armed Forces Tribunal can only
                decide cases in accordance with the rules, the
                Commission can recommend even change of the
E
                rules where it feels that the same are defective or
                inadequate. In other words, the Commission is not
                confined to following the relevant rules relating to
                service conditions, pension, etc. but it can
                recommend change of the same where it feels that
F               the same are defective or inadequate.

        20. We further direct all authorities in India, Civil or Military
  (including the Secretary, Defence, Union of India, and the Chiefs
  of the Army, Navy and Air Staffs) to extend all cooperation to
G the Commission to enable it to discharge its functions
  effectively.

       21. The notification constituting the Commission as
  provided above will be issued by the Central government
H forthwith.
       PUSHPA VANTI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                791


     22. The claim of the petitioner in this case shall stand      A
referred to the Commission. The Registry of this Court shall
send copies of the papers of this case forthwith to the members
of the Commission nominated by us, and the petitioner's claim
shall be considered expeditiously. Claims of other armed forces
personnel (serving or retired) should also be considered           B
expeditiously.

       23. List this case again on 7.2.2011.

R.P.                                    Writ petition adjourned.