HC notice to govt over order baring ex-servicemen publishing anything on war.

The Bombay High Court has issued a notice to the Chief Secretaries of the Union Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, and Personnel and Training in response to a petition filed by two military veterans challenging the Union government's March 31 notification prohibiting former military personnel from posting or publishing anything related to war.

The Union government has prohibited former defence personnel from writing or posting anything about war or war crimes as a result of these changes to the pension rules. It requires the government's permission before publishing anything in the media or on social media. In addition, the amended rules state that any violation will be taken seriously, and violators will lose their pension benefits.

Air Force veteran Sandesh Singhalkar of Nagpur and Lt Col Suresh Patil of Pune, who have served in the armed forces for 16 and 25 years, respectively, have filed the petition.

One of the contentions of the petitioners is that the new amendments are a direct threat to the fundamental right of speech and expression and that, since it would impact pensions, it is thus against the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The petition, filed by lawyers Asim Sarode and Ajinkya Udane, takes issue with a notification issued by the Union government on March 31. The amendments to the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 were announced in the notification.

"Former military officers believe that such an order would prevent distinguished officers from publicly expressing their views on current issues. Without any checks and balances in place, the Amended Rule will allow government agencies to control the narrative. The new pension rules are effectively a gag order for retired personnel from all branches of the military "According to the petition,