Court case against discrimination in CSD/URCs filed by Voice of Ex Servicemen Society. After pursuing the case in Delhi High Court consistently for more than one and half year, finally GOI/AHQ has filed counter affidavit to our writ (C ) 7659/2018 . Our plea and counter affidavit of AHQ are as under:-
- Our plea – Rank based discrimination for entitlement of Cars & liquors – Ans. by AHQ – They have replied diplomatically that limit on four whelers and liquors to JCOs/NCOs/ORs will be enhanced as and when the budget allocation increase.
- Our plea -Widows of JCOs/NCO/ORs are not entitled for four whelers- Ans. They have attached latest policy dated 24 May 2019 wherein widows of JCOs/NCOs/ORs are now also entitled.
- Our plea-Promoting untouchability in CSD by violating the Artile 17 and civil right Act -1955 and even ignoring senior citizen and disabled ESM as separate Q for Officers and JCOs/ORs- Ans by AHQ – They have not issued any such policy however, policy letter has been issued to provide adequate counters for senior citizen and physically disabled.
- Our plea-No access to JCOs/NCOs/ORs in canteens being run in DSOI and separate canteen and portion of canteen for officers. Ans. Since, DSOI is club with restricted membership for officers hence, non members are not allowed. Furthr DSOI at Delhi is located in extreme congested location with minimum space hence limitation. They did not reply whether separate canteen/portion of canteen is being run for officers or not.
- Our plea- Officers can purchase more stores than JCOs/NCOs/ORs. They replied that limits have now been imposed irrespective of the ranks.
- Our plea-Post for canteen manager is resrved for officers only. Ans. The vacancies of canteen managers are not reserved for officers and many canteen Managers are JCOs/NCOs.
- Our plea-Instead of serving solders, ESMs and their wards should be employeed in URC. Ans. They denied use of service personnel and did not say about employment of ESM and wards of ESMs.
- Misuse of Canteen profits and audit of URC by the CAG. Ans. They claimed that URC is private venture and not agreed to disclose profits of URCs, be it QD or profit levy on every items by the URCs. They are not agreed to give access to CAG to audit unit profit other than QD. Their intenstion is very clear, they do not want to give up canteen profit which is in hundred of crore yearly.
- Our plea – More than 33% canteen profit goes in officer mess whereas officers are merely 3%- They did not replied.
- Our plea- Canteen profit should be retured to ESM in the line of Gas Subsidty or return to Govt to open medical colleges, engineering college or other professional colleges from its profit for free education of wards of serving and retired soldiers – ANS. They did not replied hence not agreed to which is our major concern as thousand crores rupes of canteen are being misappropriated at various level by the officers. However, they replied that the profit amount is ploughed back to ESM for collective welfare project which is misleading and false.
Reply of AHQ and ground reality is contradicting each other though after writ AHQ have admitted our one or two plea. If you go through the complete reply of AHQ, You will find that after 72 years of independence still their mindset is colonial and anti JCOs/NCOs/ORs as time and again they tried to defend the discrimination on name of custom and to achieve operation and military goal which has no any legal standi as well as contradict their own claim that URC is private venture. Discrimintion in URCs and ECHSs being faced by the JCOs/NCOs/ORs is blot to the image of this great country and Govt also.
Next date of hearing is 17 March 2020 and before the date we have to file rejoinder. Reply of AHQ which consist of 124 pages including Annexures will be made available for study if ESMs so desire. This is a big battle against discrimination and except win we have no option hence, please join Voice of Ex Servicen Society and also support us. We have to hire senior advocate during final arugement of the case.
