Ex-servicemen irked at teachers’ demotion

Our Correspondent

Una, July 15

The Himachal Pradesh Re-Employed Ex-Servicemen Association has expressed concern over the orders of the Education Department to demote their cadre which has been employed in the state services before December 2008.

In a press release issued here on Sunday, Dhruv Singh, president of the association, said according to the Demobilised Armed Forces’ Personnel (reservation of vacancies in Himachal state) Rule 1972, on joining the state services, the ex-servicemen were allowed the service seniority and financial benefits in the state for the duration they had put in the armed forces.

He, however, said this was challenged at the State Administrative Tribunal in 1999, which set aside the petition, allowing the two benefits to continue.

Dhruv said after a long litigation, the High Court, on December 29, 2008, declared benefits being given to ex-servicemen as unconstitutional, adding that their association filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, which on August 25, 2017, upheld the orders of the High Court.

He said they respected the decision of the Supreme Court and approached Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who assured them of not implementing the orders of the apex court in retrospect, but would be applied to appointments made after the High Court orders.

Quoting the Supreme Court’s order, he said the Education Department in its communication had ordered the demotion of 11 government teachers of their cadre, who had joined service before December 29, 2008.

He charged the state government of being misled by some vested interests.

Terming the demotion of their cadre as an insult to ex-servicemen, he cautioned that the prestige and honour of the ex-servicemen should not be trifled with and they would be forced to agitate if the faulty orders were not withdrawn and honour of the ex-servicemen and their families be restored by the government.