"Get House In Order": Supreme Court Raps Centre Over One Rank One Pension

The Supreme Court asked the Defence Ministry to get its "house in order" and warned that it would issue a contempt notice if the notification wasn't withdrawn.

The Supreme Court today pulled up the Ministry of Defence over its communication regarding the payment of arrears under One Rank One Pension (OROP) in four instalments to eligible pensioners of the armed forces. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked the ministry to get its "house in order" and warned that it would issue a contempt notice if the notification wasn't withdrawn.

"The orders of the Supreme Court regarding OROP needs to be followed. Why was the decision taken to pay the arrears in instalments despite the court order?" asked the Supreme Court.

The court was hearing a petition by a group of ex-servicemen who were seeking a direction to the Centre that the arrears should be paid in one instalment instead of four. The group of ex-servicemen said that approximately four lakh pensioners have died during the pendency of the petition.

On January 9, 2023, the Supreme Court had asked the Center to pay the arrears to the armed force pensioners by March 15. However, just days later, on January 20, the Defense Secretary issued a notification saying that the department would pay the arrears in four instalments.