Defence Minister AK Antony has called a meeting of three Services chiefs on June 14 here to discuss issues regarding implementation of a Supreme Court order directing the Centre to re-fix pay-scales of military officers affected by the Fourth Pay Commission.
The meeting was convened after IAF chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne wrote two letters in January and May to Antony pointing out that the apex court’s order of September last year was being implemented selectively by the Ministry, officials said on Monday.
In the letters, it is learnt the IAF Chief said that there was a feeling among the Service officers that the delay in implementing the Supreme Court order may be intentional. He also said the issue of implementing the order could be resolved in the Ministry itself and the forces’ personnel were being “unnecessarily” taken to the courts.
The Supreme Court order was expected to benefit a large number of officers in the three Services in the rank of Captain and Brigadiers who had joined between January 1, 1986 and January 1, 2006. Ex-servicemen claimed that implementation of the order would entail an expenditure of `1,600 crore.
In the SC, ex-servicemen had contended that there was wrong fixation of rank pay awarded by the Fourth Pay Commission in which the element of rank pay was introduced for all the ranks from Captain to Brigadiers in Army and their equivalent in the Navy and Air Force in addition to pay in the integrated scale.