On July 30, the Supreme Court mandated the Union Government to address the discrepancies in pensions for regular captains under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. This directive comes after a 2021 order from the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in Kochi, which the Union Government had appealed against.
Previously, on July 24, the Supreme Court had cautioned the Union Government about the possibility of imposing significant costs and suggested a 20% pension increase for regular captains. As a final chance, the matter was deferred to today.
In today’s session, Justices Sanjiv Khanna and R. Mahadevan emphasised the necessity of a resolution. Initially, the Court proposed a 10% pension increase. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati pleaded for more time, citing the complexity of the issue. Justice Khanna questioned the prolonged delay, stressing the plight of retired captains lacking direct access to decision-makers.
Despite ASG Bhati’s request for a three-month extension, the Court recorded the pension enhancement in its order. Bhati promptly requested to halt this order, leading the Court to grant the Union time until November 14, 2024, to resolve the anomalies. The Court warned that if no decision is reached by then, it will order the pension enhancement for regular captains.
On March 16, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the OROP scheme and directed the Centre to pay arrears within three months, later extending the deadline multiple times. In January 2023, the Defence Ministry unilaterally extended the deadline against the Court’s order, prompting a strong response from the Supreme Court, which threatened contempt action. The final extension requires arrears to be cleared in instalments by February 2024.
