THE STATUS OF ARMED FORCES SERVICES/PERSONNEL : THE PROVISIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Indian Military Veterans

THE STATUS OF ARMED FORCES SERVICES/PERSONNEL : THE PROVISIONS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

YR RAGHAVAN VETERAN 

Gen Cariappa had once thrown it out, when asked stated the fact that there can NEVER be any inter-se equivalency between between an Army Officer and a Babu.

It does not need any emphasis and the reasons are as under : 

All actions of an Army Officer pertain to the very existence of the State, where as those pertaining to the Babus are local in nature and have very little consequence.

It is only much hyped self proclaimed relevance, if at all because it is an established  fact that the Indian  bureaucracy is one of the most corrupt bureaucracy in the World, there are no life and death matters facing them squarely.

Failure of a Babu, has no consequence, they have the Army to save them, whereas the Army has no one to lean back on, the failure of the Army being the LAST BASTION of the NATION would be construed as the Failure of the Nation (floods in J&K, Rohtak Jat agitation and Ram Rahim roits in Panchkula are an example).

 As per the Constitution of India there is a provision of the MARTIAL LAW which means that the DEFENCE SERVICES will be entrusted with the running of the country, whereas there is and cannot be any such provision for the Babus to rule the  Nation as Commanders.

The bureaucrats will remain only bureaucrats ie Staff Officers at best, but Army Officers will remain Commander's all their lives.

Hence parity cannot be drawn.

If the Chief has ball's, he should walk up to the PM and say so.

What nonsense? Who allowed it? Why did people take it lying down?

And if they are from within us they need to be taken to task even if they happen to be the Chief's and as such they need to be publicly denounced and ostracised from the comity of SOLDIERS and banished for life for having SOLD their brethren in arms which is treason of the Highest Order.

This has to be opposed as a life and death matter. Let heads roll if need be.        

People need to be made to understand that SOLDIERS have An INTERNATIONAL CHARTER and an equivalent universal rank structure that is. SOLDIERS are a different breed, they not only subscribe to the law of the land they create, but also to the Army Act and Internationally accepted norms of soldiering the Geneva Conventions. So the most stupid, the most absurd thought that only an idiot or a moron can think about is the question of equivalency or parity with the rank and file of the Defence Services.

And only jealous people with low IQ but big high headed egos can even think of it, therefore it needs to be shot down at the bud.

The very fact that the Officer to Men ratio is high in the Defence Services is not out of choice, but because of the responsibility and degree of competent leadership backed by accountability  that an Officer carries, because of the stakes that they have to contend with especially considering the fact that they cannot fail and the only option available to them is to succeed or perish. Life is at stake, as the last bastion of the Nation, which is an unwritten self proclaimed code of the Soldiers. A fact substantiated by the casualty ratio in every war, in every operation, wherein the casualty ratio in respect of Officer to  Men casualties are heavily skewed in favour of Officers, which bears testimony to my claims.

Hence the most absurd statement is to seek equivalency with or even parity with Officers, JCO and OR of the Defence Services  of any Nation.

Soldiers were, are and will remain a breed apart, notches higher than their Civilian counterparts.

Even to seek parity with them is blasphemous forget putting them down and if anyone even tries to do so, should be considered as Anti National and a Traitor to the Nation, since it would tantamount to weakening the Nation and preparing it for invasion, subjugation and slavery to foreign powers or disintegration like the USSR in times to come.

A clear cut indication of home grown traitors at work.

Jai Parkash Narain, Veteran

But it is happening and done by PM and DM and maybe AHQ/IDF is involved. As per the progress in our NFU case where the Govt seems to be trying to declare commission officers to start as Class B officers and it seems DSR is no authority for their being Class 1 officers. 

Pay parity is also no consideration. Who is directing it, has the bureaucrats taken over the Govt. Do whatever u can but as of now things r really bad for the officer class and the rest of the defence forces. 

Chiefs have not said anything on the issue not even against any menial jobs being handed over to the forces, not as a last bastion but even the first one as cleaning the garbage. 

Now what? Are def forces getting politicised or being pushed to that end. 

Everybody seems to be above us CDA and CGDA do their own calculations after every CPC and does not give us our right dues and we have to get it through court cases after yrs of struggle and even that may not be possible the way the AFT judges r being nominated by the same bureaucrats against whom the case is filed. 

Watch out the future of the country is in the hands of thieves and rascals.

Shreekumar Menon, Veteran

This seems to be some disinformation mail. Here is a forward of a logical equation.

"Part XIV of the constitution deals with the "Services Under the union and the states". Under Chapter I of the same part it deals with Public Services. 

Article 309 of Chapter I of the part XIV of the constitution refers to the word "Public Services" for all services under this Part of the constitution which include defence services too. And that is reason the name of Union Public Services Commission was taken to recruit all such services by UPSC as constituted under chapter II of Part XIV. That is also the reason that in the interpretation of the word “Public Servant” the defence officers have been included.

Article 310 further classifies these public services into Defence Services, Civil Services of the Union and All India Services. It clearly keeps Defences services at par with other services.

The provision of the articles 311 onwards under chapter 1 does not apply to the defence services. As these provisions deal with more to disciplinary arrangements, logically so defence officers have not been included in these as defence services have their different sets of provisions under Armed Forces Act and Rules. 

And we club it with the restrictions as put by our constitution on the certain fundamental rights of the member defence forces, the broad classification of Public Services can be done in two; 

1. Defence Services and 

2. Civil Services clubbed with all India Services.

Now if see the constitution it throws certain facts and these are: 

1. Defence services are very much part of public services as envisaged under the constitution.

2. The distinction of Public Services has been made into Defence services, Civil Services of Union and All India Services.

3. Our constitution does not mention defence officers as commissioned officers and creates a separate class. 

Our constitution is silent on this part. 

The appointment letter to defence officers are given by the President in form of Commission Parchment and same is written in the title of it. But in the text of same it doesn’t mention the word commission. 

Let me reiterate that the word commission has some more to do with the sovereign powers of the President. To take or pardon life. 

But here is an exception which highlights the meaning and sovereign powers of commission officers. Under Summary General Court Martial an officer of the rank of a Captain and above, not only can give the sentence of death but also can confirm it for its immediate execution by shooting without any reference to the president or any court of the land. 

In civil the death sentence is giving by not less than a Session Judge and it can only be executed once the president confirms it and that also by hanging.

4. Now for terms and conditions of the services there could be two interpretations.

a. If the pay commissions are set to also decide services conditions under Article 309 and 310 then defence forces are very much part of it and shall be treated at part with Civil Services and All India Services as public services.

b. If the pay commission only takes the provisions of articles 311 onwards than defence forces are not part it and needs to be given a separate pay commission.

Considering the spirit of the constitution wherein it itself has made distinction from article 311 onwards there is a need for defence forces to have separate pay commission. 

What we need is that we must now push for the clear interpretation of these articles and positioning of defence forces"

Regards

Menon

(Source- Via Gp E-mail)