Plea in HC for gratuity to disabled SSC officers who retired before 1993

A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon said that normally it would not entertain such a plea which has been filed challenging a 27 year old Defence Ministry decision denying gratuity to those who retired prior to June 3, 1993. However, as the cause raised in the petition related to disabled war veterans, the court asked the petitioner organisation to first give the particulars of the number of such persons or their families and the amounts to be paid to them as gratuity.

A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking payment of death-cum-retirement gratuity to the disabled short service commission (SSC) officers who retired prior to June 1993. A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon said that normally it would not entertain such a plea which has been filed challenging a 27 year old Defence Ministry decision denying gratuity to those who retired prior to June 3, 1993.

However, as the cause raised in the petition related to disabled war veterans, the court asked the petitioner organisation to first give the particulars of the number of such persons or their families and the amounts to be paid to them as gratuity. It also asked the petitioner organisation -- Disabled War Veterans (India) -- to show how the issue was maintainable after passage of 27 years.

Central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, who appeared for the Defence Ministry, told the bench that the petition was not maintainable as it has been filed after 27 years of passing of the impugned order. Digpaul also denied the allegations of discrimination made in the petition.

During the hearing via video conference, the bench observed that it cannot be lost sight that if any relief was granted it would lead to a financial outflow which cannot be directed after such a length of time. The court said that gratuity was not a recurring payment and the government cannot be expected to keep its books or accounts open for ever as doing so would lead to "throwing all the audits and financial plans to the winds".

It noted that the 1993 order was challenged before the Armed Forces Tribunal in 2010 which had said it cannot grant the benefit of gratuity to the short service commissioned officers who retired prior to 1993, but it can tell the government that a distinction between short service commissioned and regular service commissioned officers was discriminatory. The bench also noted that there was a further delay of another 10 years before the present petition was filed.

It further noted that fixing a cut off date for payment of gratuity does not appear to be discriminatory. While directing the petitioner to give particulars of the veterans or their families and amounts to be paid to them as gratuity, the court also ordered that it address the issue of delay in filing the matter.

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