Today, the Bench of the Supreme Court of India has held that the Ministry of Law has no right to take the law into its own hand. The Court further said that the Ministery of Defence cannot issue a communication on Payments of One Rank One Pension arrears in four instalments. 

The bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala directed the ministry to immediately withdraw its January 20 communication, which said OROP arrears will be paid in four instalments.

"First withdraw (your) January 20 notification on payment of OROP arrears, then we will consider your application for time," the bench told Venkataramani.

"Show us the note on Monday. How much is left, and what is the prioritisation? the oldest people, widows etc can be taken into account, like above 75 etc."

In the previous hearing which was held on 27th February, the Court pull down an exception to the decision of the MoD to unilaterally extend the deadline for payment of arrears to retired armed forces personnel under OROP.

Before that, at the start of this year, the ministry had issued a communication stating that the payments would be made by way of four equal instalments.  On January 9, the Supreme Court of India granted time till March 15 to the Centre for payment of total arrears of OROP. But on January 20, the ministry issued a communication that the arrears shall be paid in four yearly instalments.