Question : CASES OF EX ARMY PERSONNEL

(a) the number and details of cases of Ex-army personnel or their spouses/dependents whose pension has been suspended on various grounds, including espionage, for years on end, irrespective of the age of the recipients;

(b) the number of such cases where it continues to be suspended despite their old age and penury being suffered by them;

(c) the reasons for inaction or delay in completing certain formalities by concerned Departments, even after they have been exonerated for no fault on their part; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to monitor and keep an eye on such callous defaults and delays?

MINISTER OF DEFENCE(SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES)


(a) to (d): Under the provisions of Army Pension Regulations, if a pensioner is sentenced to imprisonment for a criminal offence, his pension is suspended from the date of his imprisonment. Action to restore the suspended pension is taken by the Competent Authority only after the individual applies for the same on release from imprisonment. The actual number of pensioners, whose pension has been suspended is not available as no separate statistics in this regard are being maintained.