In the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Allahabad
WP No.........of 2013 (PIL Civil)
Amitabh Thakur and another Petitioners
Versus
Union of India Respondent
INDEX
S No
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Description of documents relied upon
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Page No
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From
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To
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1.
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List of Dates and Events (separate)
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Separate
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2.
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Memo of Writ Petition
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3.
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Annexure No 1
Representation of the petitioners | ||
4.
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Annexure No 1
Government Order as regards age of superannuation | ||
5.
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Photo Identity of the petitioner
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6.
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Affidavit
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7.
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Vakalatnama
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Lucknow Asok Pande
Dated- 19/08/2013 Counsel of Petitioner # 94154-65438
In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow
Writ petition No- of 2013 (PIL-Civil)
Amitabh Thakur and another Petitioners
Versus
Union of India Respondent
LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS
S No Date Event
1. 1950 Army Act and Air Force Act enacted
2. 1957 Navy Act enacted
In our country, while the other Central government servants and most other State government servants retire at the age of 58 to 60 or even more, most of the defence personnel working in the Indian Army, Indian Air Force Act and Indian Navy get superannuated at very young ages, some these age of retirements could be as early as 33 to 38 years, while it is 42 and 48 years also in many other cases. This superannuation at very young ages has extremely detrimental effects on only on the concerned defence personnel and their families and seems to be discriminatory against them, it also comes as a National loss because the Nation as a whole seems to be losing the services of some of the most capable, well-skilled and physically and mentally alert employees. Thus this being a matter of larger public interest and also having Human Rights issues involved in it, the petitioners are sending a few suggestions to the respondent through this Writ Petition where they have primarily suggested that instead of disturbing the functional requirements of the Defence forces, a better way could be to restructure these services in such a manner that the age of superannuation of these defence personnel remains the same as that of any other central government employee but it gets separated in two distinct phases- one in the defence forces as per the functional requirement of the defence services and the second in the civilian (non-defence) organizations as per their skills and abilities, on a case to case basis.
Hence this Writ Petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation.
Lucknow Asok Pande
Dated- 19/08/2013 Counsel of Petitioner # 94154-65438
Dated- 19/08/2013 Counsel of Petitioner # 94154-65438
In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow
Writ petition No- of 2013 (PIL-Civil)
Amitabh Thakur, aged about 45 years, s/o Sri T N Thakur r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow
2. Dr Nutan Thakur, aged about 40 years, w/o Sri Amitabh Thakur r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-------Petitioners
Versus
1. Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi-110001 -----------Respondent
Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
To,
The Hon’ble Chief Justice and His other Hon’ble companion Judges of the aforesaid Court:
The humble petition of the above named petitioner most respectfully begs to submit as under:
1. That by means of this petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation, the petitioners are invoking the extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court vested with it through Article 226 of the Constitution to file this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with a prayer to kindly take a reasoned decision on the representation being presented by the petitioners (Annexure No 2) through this Writ Petition within a reasonable time-period, say four months, as regards restructuring the services of the various defence personnel so that they have the same age of superannuation as every other Central government employee and their service gets bifurcated in two broader tenures- the first in the defence forces and the second in the civilian (non-defence) organizations as per the capabilities and skills of the defence personnel and the organizational requirement, on a case to case basis
The petitioners declare that they have not filed any other Writ petition before the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Hon’ble Court either at Allahabad or its Lucknow bench pertaining to the subject matter and/ or for the relief prayed for in the instant writ petition. It is further declared that in respect of the same subject, no caveat notice has been received by the petitioners. They also declare that to the best of their knowledge and their search, there is no pronouncement as regards the above issues being presented through this Writ Petition either by the Hon’ble Supreme Court or this Hon’ble Court.
2. That this is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) being filed as regards the welfare and benefit of the defence personnel in masse and also as regards their appropriate use of Nation building.
3. That the PIL is being filed because the petitioners feel that not only a situation of discrimination against the defence personnel and their family members prevails presently when they get retired at a very young age when they have the highest responsibilities imposed on them, but this situation is also against the larger public/national interest where the nation seems to be losing the services of the most capable, mentally and physically alert and highly skilled work force at a very young age.
4. That Black's Law Dictionary (6th Edition) defines public interest as: “Something in which the public, the community at large has some pecuniary interest, or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected. It does not mean anything so narrow as mere curiosity, or as the interests of the particular localities, which may be affected by the matters in question. Interest shared by citizens generally in affairs of local, state or national Government”. Similarly, an American journalist Walter Lippman in The Public Philosophy (1955) wrote, "Public interest is generally taken to mean a commonly accepted good. Public interest may be presumed to be what men would choose if they saw clearly, thought rationally, acted disinterestedly and benevolently”. It can be easily seen that the issue being presented is associated with public exchequer, the betterment of the defence forces and also the security of the entire Nation. Thus the matter concerns every person of the Nation.
5. That this being a PIL, in pursuance of Rule 1, subrule (3A) of Chapter XXII of the Allahabad High Court Rules 1952 the petitioners find it relevant to present some facts regarding their own credibility. Petitioner no 1 is an officer of the Indian Police Service, Uttar Pradesh Cadre though he is filing this Writ Petition in his individual capacity as a concerned citizen of this Nation. He is also concerned with various social issues and has filed WP No 3489 of 2012 (PIL-MB) as regards the role of Intermediaries in the Information Technology Act 2000 and WP No 3153 of 2012 (PIL-MB) as regards the legal and administrative status of the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI W P No 7596 of 2012 (PIL- Civil) along with petitioner No 2, his wife. He is also striving for formation of a Unified Police Association for all policemen, right from the Constable to the DGP and filed two Writ Petitions which allege discrimination between superior and subordinate officers in Para Military forces like the PAC, CRPF etc. He recently filed a PIL to bring the CB-CID, Vigilance and other State investigative agencies out of government control being done presently against the provisions of law. He recently filed a PIL along with his wife as regards the supply of subsidized alcoholic drinks to the defence personnel being detrimental to the forces and the Nation at large.
6. That petitioner No 2 is a social activist and freelance journalist who wants to genuinely and positively contribute to the society in all possible ways. She works primarily in the field of transparency and accountability in governance, Human Rights and assisting in the enforcement of Rule of law. The matter being presented here is primarily related with transparency and accountability in governance and Human Rights. The petitioner has filed a very large number of important Public Interest Litigations which include one (Writ Petition No 9761 M/B of 2010) when the Commonwealth Games were going to be inaugurated by the Prince of England while the President of India had to remain a silent spectator in the ceremony, WP No 2425 of 2012 (PIL-MB) about the delay in deciding over the Arms license application, WP No 2589 of 2012 (PIL-MB) about the Development Authorities harassing people in the name of illegal colonies, WP No 1440 of 2011 about the vacancy in UP Hindi Sansthan, WP No 2608 of 2011 (M/B) to declare the provisions of section 9 of this UP Act No. 16 of 1976 ultra vires to the provisions of constitution, WP No 3028 of 2011 (PIL-MB) about exorbitant rise of Airfares during emergency periods, WP No 1361 of 2012 (M/B) as regards the “Model Code Of Conduct For The Guidance Of Political Parties And Candidates” issued by the Election Commission of India. WP No 3489 of 2012 (PIL-MB) as regards the role of Intermediaries in the Information Technology Act 2000 and WP No 3153 of 2012 (PIL-MB) as regards the legal and administrative status of the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI). It was purely on the basis of her works that the petitioner was chosen for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State, whose purpose is to help build mutual understanding between citizen leaders of the U.S. and other countries. This is what the website Hill Post says about the petitioner- “Nutan Thakur is one of the few people in our society who likes to ‘walk the talk’. For her, change is a long process that requires consistent efforts” and that- “Nutan Thakur is indeed an empowered Indian – well aware of her rights, and duties.” The petitioner filed a Public Interest Litigation W P No 7596 of 2012 (PIL- Civil) where she prayed to take necessary steps to control the exorbitant prices of these drugs. She also filed a Writ Petition before this Hon’ble Court related with the alleged corrupt activities of Zakir Hussein Memorial Trust with Union Minister Sri Salman Khurshid as its Chairman. She filed a Writ Petition as regards improper appointment of Station Officers in the police stations of Uttar Pradesh and the alleged corruption related with this process, which this Hon’ble Court took very seriously. She filed a PIL for adoption of two child norm to control the severe problem of population explosion where this Hon’ble Court also showed its concern towards this problem. The petitioner filed another Writ Petition for installing CCTV in women lockups in the police stations for the safety of arrested women in police stations. She filed a WP No 1061 of 2013 (M/B) in this Hon’ble Court where she challenged the appointment process of various State Government Commissions etc including the way Sri K C Pandey was made the Vice Chairman of Ganna Sansthan despite being an accused in a very serious case. She filed WP No 1587 of 2013 for formation of Children Courts under the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act 2012 and another PIL for creation of Child Commission in UP. Very recently she filed a PIL for filling the vacant posts of the UP Human Rights Commission. This list is not complete and there are many other such PILs filed by the petitioner, most of which have been entertained and taken very positively by this Hon’ble Court.
7. That the petitioners state on oath that the public cause they are seeking to espouse through this Writ Petition is as regards a situation of discrimination against the defence personnel and their family members which seems to prevail presently when they get retired at a very young age when they have the highest responsibilities imposed on them and because this situation is against the larger public/national interest where the nation seems to be losing the services of the most capable, mentally and physically alert and highly skilled work force at a very young age. The petitioners put it on oath that they are not filing this PIL nor have they filed any other PIL for any ulterior motive save the stated one nor have they received a single penny through any backdoor activity while filing these PILs. They state on oath that they have no personal or private interest in the matter and as far as they know there is no authoritative pronouncement by the Hon’ble Supreme Court or this Hon’ble High Court on the specific questions raised here. They put it on oath that the result of the Litigation will not lead to any undue gain to them or anyone associated with them or any undue loss to any person, body of persons or to the State. They also put it on oath that they do not have their son or daughter etc in defence forces, who might emerge gainer out of this PIL. Hence the only purpose is the larger public interest, the interests of these defence personnel and their families and the assciated national interest.
8. That coming to the matter of the PIL, it is well-known that the age of retirement/superannuation of most of the Central Services is presently 60 years.
9. That it is also well-known that the age of retirement was raised in 1998 from 58 years to 60 years.
10. That it is also well known that this age of retirement was 55 years a few decades ago, which got raised to 58 years.
11. That it is also well-known that the Central government employees are not exactly satisfied with this age of retirement and there are constant talks of it’s getting raised further to 62 years.
12. That even presently the age for retirement in case of teachers and scientists is 62 years.
13. That similarly the age of retirement of Professors in various Universities is 65 years.
14. That in a related development, Chhattisgarh government has recently increased the age of retirement to 62 years from 60 for its employees.
15. That even on 18/08/2013, there has been news that Madhya Pradesh government would consider raising the age of retirement of state government employees from the current 60 years to 62, as stated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of MP Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He is believed to have said-"We will consider the matter. Madhya Pradesh will consider such issues in its own manner and will not follow what other states are doing on the matter”.
16. That unlike all these the position in the three Defence Forces, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy is very different.
17. That the petitioners present a chart as regards the age of superannuation of various Commissioned ranks and one as regards the various Non-commissioned Officers (NCO, for short) and Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO, for short) ranks in the India Army, which they obtained from the website of the Indian Army (http://indianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/documents/psdte311212.pdf). A copy of this information as regards age of superannuation is being attached as Annexure No 1.
18. That these charts/tables provide age of superannuation for different ranks and also as regards different kinds of services.
19. That thus for Special List Officers, age of superannuation as per rank held is 57 years up to Colonel and 59 years for Brigadiers.
20. That for Special Commissioned Officer who are serving JCOs/NCOs commissioned at age between 28-35 yrs, superannuation age is 57 yrs.
21. That as per this information, age of superannuation for Major and below ranges from 52 to 57 yrs, for Lt Colonel between 54 to 57 years, for Colonel 54 to 57 years, for Brigadier 56 to 59 years, for Major General 58 to 60 years and for Lt General 60 to 62 years.
22. That for Sepoys of GD Categories/Semi-skilled categories, the superannuation takes place after 17 years of service with colours extendable by two years by screening and two years in reserve or till attainment of 42 years of age, whichever is earlier.
23. That for Seopys of Skilled/Technical Categories/Specialist Categories and Tradesmen, superannuation takes place after 20 years of service with colours extendable by two years by screening and three years in reserve or till attainment of 48 years of age, whichever is earlier.
24. That for Naik, it is on completion of 22 years’ service with colours extendable by two years by screening or 49 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Dafadar/Havildar, on completion of 24 years’ service with colours extendable by two years by screening or 49 years of age, whichever is earlier., for Naib Subedars, 26 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or 52 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Risaldar/Subedar 28 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or 52 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Risaldar Major / Subedar Major 32 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or four year tenure or 54 years of age, whichever is earlier.
25. That the petitioners had talks with persons employed in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force at JCO/NCO ranks and they have been told that in Air force the age of joining is 18 to 23 years and the initial employment is for 20 years initial bond period, which is extendable by 6 years and further extendable in various ways, till the upper age limit of 57 years.
26. That in the Indian Navy, while one joins as NCO at the age ranging between 18 to 20 years, the initial bond period is only for 15 years, which is extendable by 5 years after 15 years and subsequently extendable till the upper limit of 56 years.
27. That it was also told to the petitioners that these extensions were not assured ones. They depended upon a multitude of factors, including the service records, the Character rolls, the requirement of the Indian Navy or the Indian Air Force, the heath status of the employee and so on. As per the petitioner’s information, in Indian Navy, there is a Bureau of sailors headed by an officer of the rank of Commodore who gives approval to each of such applications for extension of service and there are enough instances and examples where the sailor or the member of the Indian Navy wanted to continue in service but the extension was not granted and his contract was terminated for various reasons. The same is said to be true of the Indian Air Force as well.
28. That the petitioners could not relocate these facts about Indian Navy and Indian Air force from their respective websites and are thus based on the statements of the employees they talked with.
29. That similarly, there are various retirement ages for Commissioner Officers of Air Force and Indian Navy which vary from rank to rank and from job variety to other.
30. That from the above, it is easily seen that almost all the defence personnel get retired at much earlier age than the age of retirement of the civilian employees, which in almost all states in 58 to 60 years, is already 60 years in Central government and is also being expected to raise further.
31. That there can thus be no denial to this fact that prima-facie such a situation seems to be discriminatory to the members of the Defence forces.
32. That in some cases, the discrimination is less as the age of superannuation is around 55 to 58, in many other cases it is substantially different. Thus one sees that in Air Force an airman who joins at the age of 18-23 for a 20 years period, might even get superannuated after the end of this 20 years period at the age of 38 itself. Similarly, a sailor in the Indian Navy who joins at the age of 18 years for 15 years bond period might see himself getting retired/contract ended at the age of 33 only. That again Sepoys of GD Categories/Semi-skilled categories get superannuated at the maximum age of 42 years
33. That there can be no denial that ages like 33 or 38 or 42 or 48 are really quite less for a person to get retired. In many government services, the age of entry goes as high as 35 to 40 years. In such cases a person getting retired at such early ages in really detrimental and tormenting for the concerned personnel.
34. That it is also well-known at that these ages, there are a very large number of responsibilities of every person-m that of wife, children, father and mother and others. There is also a very long life left ahead. In such circumstances, getting relieved of service is truly disadvantageous, torturous, tormenting and devastating.
35. That it is also true that not all of these defence personnel get reemployed after their retirement from defence services. Many of them don’t get any kind of job. Among those who get jobs, the majority at lower ranks get employed only as security guards, standing outside Malls, private houses etc.
36. That it is really saddening to see the proud Jawans of Indian defence forces standing outside the house of a moneyed person or outside a Mall in rather shabby dress.
37. That such an employment takes away quite some pride of these ex-defence persons and also puts the defence forces in some embarrassing light.
38. That it is also true that the defence officers and men among the most fit, active, alert ones among the government employees.
39. That the defence employees, in all the three services, are bound to constantly keep themselves physically fit, mentally alert and intellectually imbibed.
40. That defence forces might be among the rare government jobs where all through the service, the employees undertake various in-service courses, which are both indoor and outdoor in nature
41. That defence forces again might be among the rare government jobs where almost all the promotions are earned through hard work- through various kinds of in service examinations of very stiff nature. Unlike many other services, including the IAS and IPS, where the service hierarchy is cylindrical in nature, in defence forces, the structure is pyramidal where only the best can survive.
42. That in such circumstances, even at the time of retiring, these defence forces are quite fit physically and quite alert and capable mentally.
43. That thus getting rid of these extremely useful human resources at very young age comes as being a national waste.
44. That it might be true that such age of superannuation were decided as per the functional needs of the defence forces in different capabilities and different places, which the petitioners have neither the knowledge nor the authority to challenge or comment upon.
45. That it is also true that each of these defence personnel join these services by their sweet will and without any kind of coercion.
46. That yet, the fact remains that an Income Tax employee, a Sales Tax employee, a Nagar Nigam or Jal Nigam employee, an Electricity Board or PWD employee once entering the government service remains here till the age of 60, whether he is found to have committed many misconducts or has the most poor career record. In all these cases, the age of retirement has nothing to do with the performance of the employees. Thus, once a person joins one of these organizations/government offices, he is almost assured that unless he is found guilty of misconduct of such a high and extremely serious nature that would lead him to removal from service, his life is rather assured. He need not perform to get promoted to be able to increase his length of service. He need not worry about his varying age of retirement as per his rank and file.
47. That on the contrary, here are the fittest and most alert, mentally, intellectually and physically, government servants who have to struggle among themselves for every inch of promotion and subsequent increase in their age of superannuation. If they don’t get promoted, they retire at early ages. And in any way, in many of these ranks, they retire at very young ages vis-a-vis the other government servants.
48. That this does not prima facie seem to make sense because while the other government servants have almost a complete assurance of their service, the defence personnel have not only been made to intensely struggle at each stage, they also have a shorter (in some cases, quite shorter) service length than their fellow government servants in other much more relaxed and less taxing and less hazardous government departments.
49. That such a situation is not only detrimental and discriminatory against the concerned defence personnel, it is also detrimental and adverse for their entire family members. With the main bread earner out of job at relatively young ages, when the responsibilities of life are at their peak, when the sons and daughters are to be educated, when they are to be married and settled and when many other household liabilities exist at their zenith, it is certainly very difficult and painful for the entire family.
50. That thus from the point of view of the Human Rights of all these family members as well, this present situation of younger ages of retirement (too young in many of these cases) seems to be discriminatory and improper.
51. That the fact that such discrimination seems to be apparently being done with the fittest and the best government employees and the one who are the saviours and guards of the security and sovereignty of this land, makes it even more painful.
52. That it is the defence personnel who live in the most difficult areas and have life in extremely strenuous and dangerous environments for the sake of guarding the Nation.
53. That hence, our duty seems to be to reciprocate in all possible ways towards the welfare of these defence personnel and their family members.
54. That whatever facts, views, opinions and emotions the petitioners have presented here in this representation has been gathered primarily from from whatever feedback they had from many of the serving and retired defence personnel on this particular topic of early ages of superannuation
55. That there can be no denial to the fact that defence forces are not like every other public office. They are very special in their needs and requirements. They have very separate and singular situations. The defence, being a very very special organization, cannot be treated as any other government organization.
56. That due to these very special and specific functional and organizational requirements of the defence forces, it is obvious that they would have devised their needs in a very special manner, after lots of study and considerations.
57. That hence never for once can the petitioners even dare to try to impose any of any their thoughts as regards what shall be the upper age at which a defence personnel shall work at different ranks and files.
58. That if the respondent and the three Defence forces feel that they need a person a Sepoy till the age of 42 only or a Colonel till the age of 54 to 57 years, or if they feel that Seopys of Skilled/Technical Categories/Specialist Categories and Tradesmen not beyond the age of 48 years or that a JCO/NCO in Air force is needed for initial employment of 20 years only, let it be so. These are the issues much beyond the realm and comprehension of the petitioners to comment in any possible manner.
59. That the only thing that the petitioners want to pray is that while the functional and organizational requirements of various defence forces, for various jobs at different ranks and files is a reality and is above every other thing, at the same time, the benefit and betterment of the defence personnel, their well-being and the well-being of their family members and dependents, the Human rights of these defence personnel and their family members and the use of these highly skilled, highly alert and functional government servants also needs to be seen by the respondent itself.
60. That what the petitioners thus suggest is that without in any way even touching the functional and organizational requirements of the defence forces as far as the upper age till which each of these ranks and files are needed in defence forces, another option can be easily explored where these government employees who have joined the defence forces, remain in the defence services till the upper age for which they are needed in defence forces, but after completion of this term and in case they are no more needed in the defence services, they be shifted/transferred/placed to any of the other government services where there are needed.
61. That as explained in great details, since each of the defence personnel is quite fit mentally and is also regularly trained in indoor and outdoor activities/courses, he is certainly quite updated to things around him. Thus with his mental and physical capabilities and functional inputs, they can easily get absorbed in many of the other government departments, as per their individual skills and organizational needs
62. That what it means is that a defence force employee, who today gets relieved from defence services after the age at which the defence forces no longer seems to need him, can have his employment structure redesigned in such a manner that he first serves the defence forces in the first half of his service and is later shifted to a non-defence (civilian) organization for the rest of his service, till the date of his superannuation, which now is equal to that of all other government servants.
63. That thus this arrangement of phasing out the service pattern of a defence employee in two phases- the first one in defence forces and the second one in other civilian departments, will not only ameliorate all the above mentioned pains and troubles of the defence personnel and their families and end the current discrimination that seems to be shown against them, it will also be beneficial for the nation whereby the immense talent, energy and capabilities of these defence personnel can be used in Nation building.
64. That off-course, a defence personnel could always have an option to opt out of service during the second phase in a manner available to every other government servant but let this remain an option available to the defence personnel and not being thrust upon him in a mandatory way, as is being gone presently.
65. That the petitioners fully know that it is not at all difficult to devise and give further shape and concrete structure to the general ideas being enunciated and promulgated by them.
66. That the respondent is quite capable to getting the service norms, rules and regulations restructured and refurbished as per the needs of having two-phase service of every defence personnel- one in defence forces and the rest in any other government department, till the time of superannuation of every other government servant, and can get it done, the moment they decide
67. That finally the petitioners end by saying that they have no personal interest in this matter, save that being real patriots and being socially alert and socially concerned, they found it their duty to bring this issue before the concerned authority to take appropriate decision as per the merit of the petitioners’ suggestions.
68. That the petitioners present all these facts as Annexure No 1 attached with this PIL for the kind consideration and attention of the respondent.
69. That as explained in great details in the above Para, this matter is of wide public importance and public concern. Thus it is a Public Interest Litigation, in the true sense of the word.
70. That but at the same time, the petitioners very well know from their long experience that their representation (Annexure No 1) will get lost in the long maze of official-dome and complex bureaucracy as long as it is not appropriately backed by the directions of a mighty institution like the Hon’ble High Court and hence the petitioners are approaching this Hon’ble Court, because it requires the direct intervention of the Hon’ble Court itself and in the prevailing circumstances, the petitioner is left with no other option than to approach the Hon’ble Court with this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Writ Petition to ask for certain prayers because of the reasons being stated among the Grounds as enumerated below.
71. That the petitioner’s photograph and Identity proof in the form of Passport has been enclosed along with.
GROUNDS
(1) Because the age of superannuation of most of the defence personnel seems to be going against them and comes as being discriminatory
(2) Because the age at which they get retired is one which is very crucial for them as they have all the responsibilities still left with them.
(3) Because these defence personnel are among the fittest, most well-trained, physically and mentally fit government employees
(4) Because if not needed in Defence forces, they can be easily engaged in various non-defence (civilian) jobs/organizations at the time they are being retired
(5) Because such a restructuring of their job in two phases will definitely be of immense help to the defence personnel and their family members
(6) Because such a restructuring will also be of national use as the capabilities, skills and experience of these highly qualified employees can be successfully used in nation building instead of getting waster
(7) Because the petitioners needed to approach this Hon’ble Court directly because they fully know that as long as their voice is not backed by a powerful institution like this Hon’ble Court, it will get completely lost and will not be considered
PRAYER
Wherefore, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to-
a. to issue a writ of mandamus to direct the respondent to take a reasoned decision on the representation being presented by the petitioners through this Writ Petition (Annexure No 2), as regards restructuring the services of the various defence personnel so that they have the same age of superannuation as every other Central government employee and their service gets bifurcated in two broader tenures- the first in the defence forces and the second in the civilian (non-defence) organizations as per the capabilities and skills of the defence personnel and the organizational requirement, on a case to case basis, the basis of all concerned facts and circumstances along with the content of this representation, within a reasonable time-period, say four months, to the betterment of these employees and their families and also for larger public interest.
b. to pass any other order or directions which this Hon’ble Court may deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstance of the present case.
Lucknow Asok Pande
Dated- 19/08/2013 Counsel for Petitioner # 94154-65438
Dated- 19/08/2013 Counsel for Petitioner # 94154-65438
In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow
Writ petition No- of 2013 (PIL-Civil)
Amitabh Thakur and another Petitioners
Versus
Union of India Respondent
AFFIDAVIT
I, Nutan Thakur, aged about 40 years, w/o Sri Amitabh Thakur r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, religion Hinduism, education- P Hd, D Litt, profession- Social activist and journalist, the deponent, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under-
1. That the deponent is the petitioner No 2 in the above noted petition and as such she is fully conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case, deposed to hereunder. She also declares on oath that she has been authorized by Sri Amitabh Thakur, petitioner No 1, as well and hence she files this affidavit on behalf of both the petitioners
2. That the contents of the paragraphs of the Writ petition are true to my personal knowledge, based on documents and records and believed to be true or are based on legal advice.
3. That the Annexure No 1 and 2 are the true copy of the original
Place Lucknow (Nutan Thakur)
Date- 19/08/2013 Deponent
VERIFICATION
I, the deponent above named, do hereby verify that the contents of paragraphs 1 to 3 above this Affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge and belief. No part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed. So, help me God
Signed and verified this the day of 2013 at Lucknow
Deponent
Identification
I identify the deponent, on the basis of records produced before me, who has signed before me.
Advocate
Solemnly affirmed me on at am/pm by the deponent Nutan Thakur, who has been identified by Sri clerk to Sri , Advocate, high court, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow
I have satisfied myself by examining the deponent that she understands the contents of this Affidavit which have been read over and explained to him by me
Oath Commissioner
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To,
The Secretary,
Ministry of Defence,
Government of India,
New Delhi
The Secretary,
Ministry of Defence,
Government of India,
New Delhi
Subject- Age of retirement/superannuation of Defence personnel of various ranks.
Respected sir,
1. That the petitioners are Amitabh Thakur, an IPS officer in UP Cadre and Dr Nutan Thakur, a social activist. They are both based in Lucknow and among other things, we work in our individual capacity in the field of accountability and transparency in governance and as regards Human Rights violations.
2. That recently the petitioners filed a PIL for restricting the use of subsidized alcohol to defence personnel enumerating various reasons. Now they present this representation in their individual capacity through this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as regards Age of retirement/ superannuation of Defence personnel of various ranks, for your kind consideration and necessary action.
3. That it is well-known that the age of retirement/superannuation of most of the Central Services is presently 60 years.
4. That it is also well-known that the age of retirement was raised in 1998 from 58 years to 60 years.
5. That it is also well known that this age of retirement was 55 years a few decades ago, which got raised to 58 years.
6. That it is also well-known that the Central government employees are not exactly satisfied with this age of retirement and there are constant talks of it’s getting raised further to 62 years.
7. That even presently the age for retirement in case of teachers and scientists is 62 years.
8. That similarly the age of retirement of Professors in various Universities is 65 years.
9. That in a related development, Chhattisgarh government has recently increased the age of retirement to 62 years from 60 for its employees.
10. That even on 18/08/2013, there has been news that Madhya Pradesh government would consider raising the age of retirement of state government employees from the current 60 years to 62, as stated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of MP Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He is believed to have said-"We will consider the matter. Madhya Pradesh will consider such issues in its own manner and will not follow what other states are doing on the matter”.
11. That unlike all these the position in the three Defence Forces, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy is very different.
12. That the petitioners present a chart as regards the age of superannuation of various Commissioned ranks and one as regards the various Non-commissioned Officers (NCO, for short) and Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO, for short) ranks in the India Army, which they obtained from the website of the Indian Army (http://indianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/documents/psdte311212.pdf)
13. That these charts/tables provide age of superannuation for different ranks and also as regards different kinds of services.
14. That thus for Special List Officers, age of superannuation as per rank held is 57 years up to Colonel and 59 years for Brigadiers.
15. That for Special Commissioned Officer who are serving JCOs/NCOs commissioned at age between 28-35 yrs, superannuation age is 57 yrs.
16. That as per this information, age of superannuation for Major and below ranges from 52 to 57 yrs, for Lt Colonel between 54 to 57 years, for Colonel 54 to 57 years, for Brigadier 56 to 59 years, for Major General 58 to 60 years and for Lt General 60 to 62 years.
17. That for Sepoys of GD Categories/Semi-skilled categories, the superannuation takes place after 17 years of service with colours extendable by two years by screening and two years in reserve or till attainment of 42 years of age, whichever is earlier.
18. That for Seopys of Skilled/Technical Categories/Specialist Categories and Tradesmen, superannuation takes place after 20 years of service with colours extendable by two years by screening and three years in reserve or till attainment of 48 years of age, whichever is earlier.
19. That for Naik, it is on completion of 22 years’ service with colours extendable by two years by screening or 49 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Dafadar/Havildar, on completion of 24 years’ service with colours extendable by two years by screening or 49 years of age, whichever is earlier., for Naib Subedars, 26 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or 52 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Risaldar/Subedar 28 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or 52 years of age, whichever is earlier, for Risaldar Major / Subedar Major 32 years of pensionable service extendable by two years by screening or four year tenure or 54 years of age, whichever is earlier.
20. That the petitioners had talks with persons employed in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force at JCO/NCO ranks and they have been told that in Air force the age of joining is 18 to 23 years and the initial employment is for 20 years initial bond period, which is extendable by 6 years and further extendable in various ways, till the upper age limit of 57 years.
21. That in the Indian Navy, while one joins as NCO at the age ranging between 18 to 20 years, the initial bond period is only for 15 years, which is extendable by 5 years after 15 years and subsequently extendable till the upper limit of 56 years.
22. That it was also told to the petitioners that these extensions were not assured ones. They depended upon a multitude of factors, including the service records, the Character rolls, the requirement of the Indian Navy or the Indian Air Force, the heath status of the employee and so on. As per the petitioner’s information, in Indian Navy, there is a Bureau of sailors headed by an officer of the rank of Commodore who gives approval to each of such applications for extension of service and there are enough instances and examples where the sailor or the member of the Indian Navy wanted to continue in service but the extension was not granted and his contract was terminated for various reasons. The same is said to be true of the Indian Air Force as well.
23. That similarly, there are various retirement ages for Commissioner Officers of Air Force and Indian Navy which vary from rank to rank and from job variety to other.
24. That from the above, it is easily seen that almost all the defence personnel get retired at much earlier age than the age of retirement of the civilian employees, which in almost all states in 58 to 60 years, is already 60 years in Central government and is also being expected to raise further.
25. That there can thus be no denial to this fact that prima-facie such a situation seems to be discriminatory to the members of the Defence forces.
26. That in some cases, the discrimination is less as the age of superannuation is around 55 to 58, in many other cases it is substantially different. Thus one sees that in Air Force an airman who joins at the age of 18-23 for a 20 years period, might even get superannuated after the end of this 20 years period at the age of 38 itself. Similarly, a sailor in the Indian Navy who joins at the age of 18 years for 15 years bond period might see himself getting retired/contract ended at the age of 33 only. That again Sepoys of GD Categories/Semi-skilled categories get superannuated at the maximum age of 42 years.
27. That there can be no denial that ages like 33 or 38 or 42 or 48 are really quite less for a person to get retired. In many government services, the age of entry goes as high as 35 to 40 years. In such cases a person getting retired at such early ages in really detrimental and tormenting for the concerned personnel.
28. That it is also well-known at that these ages, there are a very large number of responsibilities of every person-m that of wife, children, father and mother and others. There is also a very long life left ahead. In such circumstances, getting relieved of service is truly disadvantageous, torturous, tormenting and devastating.
29. That it is also true that not all of these defence personnel get reemployed after their retirement from defence services. Many of them don’t get any kind of job. Among those who get jobs, the majority at lower ranks get employed only as security guards, standing outside Malls, private houses etc.
30. That it is really saddening to see the proud Jawans of Indian defence forces standing outside the house of a moneyed person or outside a Mall in rather shabby dress.
31. That such an employment takes away quite some pride of these ex-defence persons and also puts the defence forces in some embarrassing light.
32. That it is also true that the defence officers and men among the most fit, active, alert ones among the government employees.
33. That the defence employees, in all the three services, are forced to constantly keep themselves physically fit, mentally alert and intellectually imbibed.
34. That defence forces might be among the rare government jobs where all through the service, the employees undertake various in-service courses, which are both indoor and outdoor in nature
35. That defence forces again might be among the rare government jobs where almost all the promotions are earned through hard work- through various kinds of in service examinations of very stiff nature. Unlike many other services, including the IAS and IPS, where the service hierarchy is cylendrical in nature, in defence forces, the structire is pyramidal where only the best can survice.
36. That in such circumstances, even at the time of retiring, these defence forces are quite fit physically and quite alert and capable mentally.
37. That thus getting rid of these extremely useful human resources at very young age comes as being a national waste.
38. That it might be true that such age of superannuation were decided as per the functional needs of the defence forces in different capabilities and different places, which the petitioners have neither the knowledge nor the authority to challenge or comment upon.
39. That it is also true that each of these defence personnel join these services by their sweet will and without any kind of coercion.
40. That yet, the fact remains that an Income Tax employee, a Sales Tax employee, a Nagar Nigam or Jal Nigam employee, an Electricity Board or PWD employee once entering the government service remains here till the age of 60, whether he is found to have committed many misconducts or has the most poor career record. In all these cases, the age of retirement has nothing to do with the performance of the employees. Thus, once a person joins one of these organizations/government offices, he is almost assured that unless he is found guilty of misconduct of such a high and extremely serious nature that would lead him to removal from service, his life is rather assured. He need not perform to get promoted to be able to increase his length of service. He need not worry about his varying age of retirement as per his rank and file.
41. That on the contrary, here are the fittest and most alert, mentally, intellectually and physically, government servants who have to struggle among themselves for every inch of promotion and subsequent increase in their age of superannuation. If they don’t get promoted, they retire at early ages. And in any way, in many of these ranks, they retire at very young ages vis-a-vis the other government servants.
42. That this does not prima facie seem to make sense because while the other government servants have almost a complete assurance of their service, the defence personnel have not only been made to intensely struggle at each stage, they also have a shorter (in some cases, quite shorter) service length than their fellow government servants in other much more relaxed and less taxing and less hazardous government departments.
43. That such a situation is not only detrimental and discriminatory against the concerned defence personnel, it is also detrimental and adverse for their entire family members. With the main bread earner out of job at relatively young ages, when the responsibilities of life are at their peak, when the sons and daughters are to be educated, when they are to be married and settled and when many other household liabilities exist at their zenith, it is certainly very difficult and painful for the entire family.
44. That thus from the point of view of the Human Rights of all these family members as well, this present situation of younger ages of retirement (too young in many of these cases) seems to be discriminatory and improper.
45. That the fact that such discrimination seems to be apparently being done with the fittest and the best government employees and the one who are the saviours and guards of the security and sovereignty of this land, makes it even more painful.
46. That it is the defence personnel who live in the most difficult areas and have life in extremely strenuous and dangerous environments for the sake of guarding the Nation.
47. That hence, our duty seems to be to reciprocate in all possible ways towards the welfare of these defence personnel and their family members.
48. That whatever facts, views, opinions and emotions the petitioners have presented here in this representation has been gathered primarily from from whatever feedback they had from many of the serving and retired defence personnel on this particular topic of early ages of superannuation
49. That there can be no denial to the fact that defence forces are not like every other public office. They are very special in their needs and requirements. They have very separate and singular situations. The defence, being a very very special organization, cannot be treated as any other government organization.
50. That due to these very special and specific functional and organizational requirements of the defence forces, it is obvious that they would have devised their needs in a very special manner, after lots of study and considerations.
51. That hence never for once can the petitioners even dare to try to impose any of any their thoughts as regards what shall be the upper age at which a defence personnel shall work at different ranks and files.
52. That if the respondent and the three Defence forces feel that they need a person a Sepoy till the age of 42 only or a Colonel till the age of 54 to 57 years, or if they feel that Seopys of Skilled/Technical Categories/Specialist Categories and Tradesmen not beyond the age of 48 years or that a JCO/NCO in Air force is needed for initial employment of 20 years only, let it be so. These are the issues much beyond the realm and comprehension of the petitioners to comment in any possible manner.
53. That the only thing that the petitioners want to pray is that while the functional and organizational requirements of various defence forces, for various jobs at different ranks and files is a reality and is above every other thing, at the same time, the benefit and betterment of the defence personnel, their well-being and the well-being of their family members and dependents, the Human rights of these defence personnel and their family members and the use of these highly skilled, highly alert and functional government servants also needs to be seen by the respondent itself.
54. That what the petitioners thus suggest is that without in any way even touching the functional and organizational requirements of the defence forces as far as the upper age till which each of these ranks and files are needed in defence forces, another option can be easily explored where these government employees who have joined the defence forces, remain in the defence services till the upper age for which they are needed in defence forces, but after completion of this term and in case they are no more needed in the defence services, they be shifted/transferred/placed to any of the other government services where there are needed.
55. That as explained in great details, since each of the defence personnel is quite fit mentally and is also regularly trained in indoor and outdoor activities/courses, he is certainly quite updated to things around him. Thus with his mental and physical capabilities and functional inputs, they can easily get absorbed in many of the other government departments, as per their individual skills and organizational needs
56. That what it means is that a defence force employee, who today gets relieved from defence services after the age at which the defence forces no longer seems to need him, can have his employment structure redesigned in such a manner that he first serves the defence forces in the first half of his service and is later shifted to a non-defence (civilian) organization for the rest of his service, till the date of his superannuation, which now is equal to that of all other government servants.
57. That thus this arrangement of phasing out the service pattern of a defence employee in two phases- the first one in defence forces and the second one in other civilian departments, will not only ameliorate all the above mentioned pains and troubles of the defence personnel and their families and end the current discrimination that seems to be shown against them, it will also be beneficial for the nation whereby the immense talent, energy and capabilities of these defence personnel can be used in Nation building.
58. That off-course, a defence personnel could always have an option to opt out of service during the second phase in a manner available to every other government servant but let this remain an option available to the defence personnel and not being thrust upon him in a mandatory way, as is being gone presently.
59. That the petitioners fully know that it is not very difficult to devise and give further shape and concrete structure to the general ideas being enunciated and promulgated by them.
60. That the respondent is quite capable to getting the service norms, rules and regulations restructured and refurbished as per the needs of having two-phase service of every defence personnel- one in defence forces and the rest in any other government department, till the time of superannuation of every other government servant, and can get it done, the moment they decide
61. That finally the petitioners end by saying that they have no personal interest in this matter, save that being real patriots and being socially alert and socially concerned, they found it their duty to bring this issue before the concerned authority to take appropriate decision as per the merit of the petitioners’ suggestions.
62. That the petitioners are approaching the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court, Lucknow bench simultaneously because they very well know from their long experience that their representation will get lost in the long maze of official-dome and complex bureaucracy as long as it is not appropriately backed by the directions of a mighty institution like the Hon’ble High Court.
63. That the petitioners apologize for whatever troubles this representation may cause to the respondent but the larger interests and the wider issues involved in the matter seemed so important and pertinent to the petitioners that they could not stop themselves from coming forth and presenting this representation.
PRAYER
That in the light of the above-mentioned facts, the petitioners humbly pray as follows-
A. To kindly take a reasoned decision on the representation being sent by the petitioners within a reasonable time-period, say four months, as regards restructuring the services of the various defence personnel so that they have the same age of superannuation as every other Central government employee and their service gets bifurcated in two broader tenures- the first in the defence forces and the second in the civilian (non-defence) organizations as per the capabilities and skills of the defence personnel and the organizational requirement, on a case to case basis
Lt No- AT/Def/Ret/01
Dated- 19/08/2013 Regards,
Yours,
(Amitabh Thakur)(Dr Nutan Thakur)
5/426, Viram Khand,
Gomti Nagar, Lucknow
# 094155-34525
nutanthakurlko@gmail.com
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