SC directs defence ministry to decide on OROP anomalies in four months

The Supreme Court has directed action on the much-awaited recommendations of the One Man Judicial Committee (OMJC) created to redress anomalies in the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, which have been languishing with the government since 2016.

While issuing directives for the implementation of OROP for the armed services in 2015, the government announced the formation of an OMJC, led by Justice Narasimha Reddy, to investigate any anomalies in the scheme's pension fixation.

Though the OMJC was not expected to change or tinker with the basic tenets of the OROP scheme, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, it was expected to look into any anomalies that arose while implementing the scheme, such as errors in tables, procedural issues, inter-service issues, or any other matter referred to it.

The OMJC delivered its report on October 26, 2016, and the Ministry of Defence formed a new internal anomalies committee on July 19, 2017 to investigate its suggestions. Following that, no final directives were given, and the matter remained pending with the government.

Meanwhile, numerous retired officers of the rank of Lieutenant Commander of the Navy (equivalent to Major), led by Lt Cdr Mathew Joseph, had petitioned the Armed Forces Tribunal's Kochi Bench (AFT). They claimed that pensions under OROP were supposed to be fixed on the average of live data from current retirees, but that their pensions could not be fixed correctly due to the lack of such data in the absence of officers retiring as Majors on completion of full service under the current promotional system. Captain-level officers were also affected by the problem.

While the defence ministry admitted before the AFT that there was an error in the calculation of Majors' pensions, it stated that the matter had been considered by the OMJC and that the government's decision was still pending, and that the correct pension would be released once the OMJC's report was implemented. The AFT had then directed the government to act upon the removal of the anomalies within six months.

Rather than acting on the orders, the Union of India filed a direct appeal with the Supreme Court against the AFT's order. However, the Supreme Court's panel of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice MM Sundresh dismissed the appeal earlier this week and ordered that the matter be addressed promptly by the anomalies committee within four months.

According to sources, removing the anomalies in the present OROP tables would not impose a significant financial cost on the government. Rather, it would result in the rectification of certain fundamental inconsistencies and procedural flaws that have disproportionately damaged the ranks of Captains and Majors during the last six years.