In Brief
Three retired Navy sailors (Chief Petty Officer and Chief Engine Room Artificers in the Submarine Arm) sought to include Submarine Pay (Rs. 300 per month) in computing their Service Pension. The Union argued Submarine Pay was an 'allowance' and non-reckonable. The Court held that Submarine Pay was to be treated as 'pay for all purposes' under the applicable 1967 Defence Letter and Navy Instructions (Third Pay Commission, 1974) in force at the time of their 1983 retirement. Later instructions redesignating Submarine Pay as an allowance could not be applied retroactively. The Court set aside the Armed Forces Tribunal's order and allowed the appeal, directing inclusion of Submarine Pay in pension computation.
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