BANGALORE, January 3: A two-judge Vacation Bench of the Karnataka High Court has issued notices to Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S K Sareen on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a court direction ``to set right disparities in pay allowances among Air Force staff and hold the respondents responsible and accountable.''The Bench, comprising Justice H N Tilhari and Justice Bannurmath, admitted the PIL on December 30. The next date of hearing hasn't been listed yet.
Filed by advocate R Prahalada Rao, and G L Chandrashekar, president of the Society for Tacit and Observant Public (STOP), the petition seeks a stay on the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission relating to flying staff allowance.
Chandrashekar, in his petition, says he served the Indian Air Force from 1973 to 1988 and retired as a Junior Warrant Officer.
The petition alleges that the ``partisan recommendations'' expose the ``unprofessional and shortsighted leadership qualities of
the establishment''.
Incidentally, the Defence Ministry recently announced the setting up of a committee, chaired by the Defence Secretary, to look into the disparities, entertain complaints and file a report within three months.
The petition alleges that the respondents failed to take proper steps even as protests spread to most of the Air Force units across the country.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
