Defence Minister withdraws controversial circular ordaining en masse litigation against military veterans

This is in reference to the post of 12 January 2014 in which it had been pointed out that the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had issued a letter ordaining en masse appeals in the Supreme Court against judicial verdicts rendered by Courts in favour of military veterans without seeking legal opinion on individual cases. The MoD had also officially admitted that it had filed appeals against disabled soldiers in the Supreme Court in ‘almost all types of cases’.

Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar of Bangalore, Member of Parliament, had consequently taken up the issue with Mr AK Antony through a letter endorsed on 18 January 2014 followed by another one on 28 January 2014. Now the Raksha Mantri has informed Mr Chandrasekhar that the controversial circular is being withdrawn.

The defence of Mr Antony (though I am sure not his own, but of one of the Under Secretaries of the DESW) in the said matter is interesting. He says that the letter had been issued to simplify decision-making.

Mr Antony, decision-making on what? Of filing ruthless appeals against your own disabled veterans? You wanted to simplify the process of unleashing legal terror on the defenders of your own nation?

Though the circular stands withdrawn, it would be otiose to expect any positive change on ground.

The sadism shall continue unabated till the time the higher bureaucracy and the political executive apply their minds properly to the problems at hand without blindly affixing initials on noting sheets put up from below.