OROP Arrears | After Defence Ministry Cites Difficulty In Clearing Rs 28,000 Crores Dues In One Go, Supreme Court Extends Timeline
Considering the financial difficulties cited by the Central Government in paying the pension arrears of retired defence personnel under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme in one go, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre to clear the dues in a staggered manner.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing...
Considering the financial difficulties cited by the Central Government in paying the pension arrears of retired defence personnel under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme in one go, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre to clear the dues in a staggered manner.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing an application filed by the Ministry of Defence seeking extension of the deadline for clearing the OROP arrears.
When the hearing started, Attorney General for India R Venktaramani sought to place on record a sealed cover note. However, the bench refused to accept the sealed cover note, saying that it is against the fundamental process of justice and stated that the note has to be made known to the other side as well.
Following this, AG read out the note which stated that the budget outlay was not sufficient to meet the expenses. The total number of pensioners range about 25 lakhs, and the OROP arrears would be in the range of Rs 28,000 crores. The budgetary outlay for the Union Ministry of Defence for 2022-23 was 5.85 lakh crores out of which amount of Rs 1.32 lakh crores is the planned expenditure for pension. Amount of 1.2 lakh crores has already been disbursed till February 2023 for 2022-23. The quantum of Rs 28,000 crores, which relates to the OROP arrears for 2019-2022, is an additional component.
The Union Ministry of Defence had taken up the matter with the Finance Ministry, which expressed its inability to provide the funds in one go and suggested a staggered payment, the AG's note stated.
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the ex-service men, told the Court that these instalments were due way back in March 2019.
"They have served the country in best years of their life and why is that they are the last priority of the government?", Ahmadi asked
Order passed by the bench
Following this, the bench dictated the order with the following observations :
As a matter of fact, the Union Govt is bound to comply with the judgment of this Court in terms of the OROP scheme. At the same time, while fixing a time schedule for the payment, the material which has been placed on record has a significant bearing in regard to the compliance with the time line. The Union Govt has proposed that out of 25 lakhs, 4 lakhs do no qualify for OROP. Total number of pensioners to whom OROP pension has to be paid come in the range of 21 lakhs pensioner. Out of the 21 lakhs, Union has undertaken to pay the entirety of dues to 6 lakh pensioners comprising of family pensioners and gallantry award winners. Such a classification is made keeping in mind that family pensioners have lost the breadwinners, and gallantry award winners have given outstanding service to the nation. Union also proposed that pensioners above the age of 70 years, (about 4 lakhs) will be paid the dues within an outerlimit of 4-5 months. For the remaining group, the arrears will be paid in three instalments by March 2024.
The bench then issued the following directions :
1. The payment of OROP dues to family pensioners and gallantry award winners shall be made in one instalment on or before April 30, 2023.
2. The payment of OROP dues to pensioners who have completed the age of 70 years or above shall be paid on or before June 30, 2023. The Union Government shall either pay the entire dues in one instalment or will be at liberty to spread out the payment in one or more instalments within the outer limit of 30.06.2023.
3. The last trench of OROP remaining due to the balance of the pensioners shall be paid in equal instalments on or before 31.08.2023, 30.11.2023 and 28.02.2024.
The bench also recorded in the order that the AG specifically clarified that the spreading out of payments shall have no bearing on the computation of the dues for the purposes of next equalisation.
Although Ahmadi requested for grant of interest for the delayed arrears, the bench refused.
On March 16, 2022, the Supreme Court, while upholding the OROP scheme, had directed the Centre to pay the arrears within a period of three months. The deadline was later extended by another three months in September 2022. In January 2023, the deadline was extended to March 15, 2023.
Later, the Defence Ministry issued a circular, unilaterally extending the deadline in the teeth of the Court order. The Supreme Court took great exception to the Defence Ministry's action and warned that the Defence Secretary will be hauled up for contempt.
Case Title : Indian Ex Service Movement vs Union of India
Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 264
One Rank One Pension - Supreme Court extends the time for Centre to disburse pension arrears for ex-servicemen under the OROP scheme