Demotion can't take place after retirement, rules AFT
Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Chandigarh, July 29
While restoring the honorary rank of a soldier, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Chandimandir (Panchkula), has ruled that the withdrawal of rank couldn’t take place after retirement.
Given Honorary Rank during service
- Mohan Singh joined the Army on April 11, 1977, and retired on April 30, 2005
- During service, he was awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant on January 26, 2005
- On August 17, 2007, the Army authorities passed an order for withdrawal of the honorary rank over a red-ink entry
Mohan Singh, a resident of Ambala, joined the Army on April 11, 1977, and retired on April 30, 2005, after a service of 28 years. During his service, he was awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant on January 26, 2005, and he continued to hold the rank till April 30, 2005, the date of his retirement.
However, the Army authorities passed an order on August 17, 2007, for the withdrawal of the honorary rank of Mohan Singh over a red-ink entry as he was awarded severe reprimand on April 8, 2005.
In 2014, Mohan Singh filed a petition before the AFT for relief. His counsel Rajesh Sehgal submitted before the tribunal that no due process was followed for withdrawal of rank as no disciplinary proceedings were initiated against him in his service tenure.
He added that no adverse order could have been passed against him without issuing a show-cause notice to him.
The Union of India submitted that such an order could be passed as per policy dated December 31, 2010. The policy says that an honorary rank couldn’t be given to a soldier if there is a red-ink entry in the last five years of service of a soldier.
The Bench comprising Justice Shekher Dhawan and Air Marshal Manavendra Singh (retd) observed, “Till April 30, 2005, there was no process initiated against him (Mohan Singh) for withdrawal of honorary rank. Subsequently, such adverse order could not be passed against the applicant as he was not in service. The policy dated December 31, 2010, cannot be made applicable to the present applicant because on the date of award of honorary rank and on the date of his retirement, and even on the date of withdrawal of honorary rank, the said policy was not in existence.”
