India
lekhaka-Deepak Tiwari
Delhi
High
Court
has
now
effectively
given
blanket
cover
to
all
the
CAPF
personnel
to
get
the
benefits
of
the
old
pension
and
nullified
the
earlier
notifications
in
this
regard.
New
Delhi,
Jan
13:
Delhi
High
Court
in
its
judgment
has
held
that
since
paramilitary
forces
are
armed
forces,
they
too
are
entitled
to
benefits
of
Old
Pension
Scheme
(OPS).
Delivering
the
judgment
on
the
plea
of
80
petitioners
who
have
all
worked
for
CAPF,
a
Division
Bench
of
Justices
Suresh
Kumar
Kait
and
Neena
Bansal
Krishna
set
aside
the
earlier
government
orders
(GOs)
and
officer
memorandums
(Oms)
in
this
regard.
The
GO
and
OM
had
denied
the
benefits
of
the
Old
Pension
Scheme
to
the
personnel
of
the
paramilitary
forces.
However,
as
the
court
observed
that
the
CAPF
that
includes
forces
like
the
Central
Reserve
Police
Force,
Shashtra
Seema
Bal
(BSF),
Border
Security
Force
(BSF),
Indo
Tibetan
Border
Police
(ITBP),
etc.
are
entitled
for
OPS.
Now,
effectively
the
High
Court
of
Delhi
has
given
blanket
cover
to
all
the
CAPF
personnel
to
get
the
benefits
of
the
old
pension
and
nullified
the
notification
dated
22.12.2003
and
OM
dated
17.02.2020.
This
has
placed
CAPF
personnel
in
the
league
of
personnel
from
the
Indian
Army,
Navy
and
Air
Force
who
are
also
entitled
for
OPS.
HC
disagrees
with
Centre’s
stand
During
the
hearing
of
the
case
the
Central
Government
counsel
argued
that
even
though
Section
3
of
CRPF
Act,
1949,
says
that
CRPF
is
an
Armed
Force
of
the
Union
of
India,
it
does
not
fall
in
the
category
of
Indian
Army
or
Air
Force/Navy.
According
to
the
government
stand
the
December
22,
2003
notification
though
has
the
term
‘Armed
Forces’ it
implies
only
for
the
personnel
of
Army,
Navy
and
Air
Force.
At
the
same
time
the
government
is
of
the
view
that
since
the
NPS
that
is
applicable
to
CAPF,
OPS
cannot
be
applied.
However,
the
Delhi
High
Court
did
not
accept
the
government’s
argument
and
held
that
the
role
of
armed
forces
in
safeguarding
our
country
should
be
appreciated
and
any
policy
decision
should
not
be
detrimental
to
their
interests.
”
title=”Kanjhawala
death
case:
11
Delhi
cops
on
duty
in
PCR,
pickets
suspended
for
negligence” />Kanjhawala
death
case:
11
Delhi
cops
on
duty
in
PCR,
pickets
suspended
for
negligence
The
High
Court
also
based
its
decision
on
Amarendra
Kumar
vs.
Union
of
India
&
others.
Case
where
it
was
made
clear
that
the
terms
which
governed
at
the
time
of
issuance
of
advertisement
for
appointment,
shall
hold
the
field
for
the
applicants.
Additionally,
the
judges
were
of
the
view
that
since
the
circular
from
the
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
(MHA)
itself
claims
that
the
Central
Forces
under
the
administrative
control
of
MHA
are
armed
Forces
of
Union,
they
should
be
armed
forces
for
all
the
purposes
including
of
the
OPS.
Story first published: Friday, January 13, 2023, 17:50 [IST]
#CAPF #entitled #Pension #Scheme