In a major set back to Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, the Defence Ministry on Saturday rejected his petition challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief. The ministry has overlooked his seniority and has appointed Singh as the next Navy chief.
The ministry, in its order, said the appointment was made considering all laid-down norms, asserting that seniority can't be the only criteria for the selection. The ministry also said that a robust selection procedure was followed for selecting the next Navy chief and that the petitioner was found unsuitable for the top post.
The ministry held that "no unsubstantiated, frivolous, extraneous or irrelevant considerations" have any bearing on appointment of the next Navy chief.
Verma, serving as commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, had moved the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) last month after the defence ministry did not respond to his statutory complaint against Singh's appointment. The tribunal on April 26 gave three weeks to the ministry to decide on the petition. The AFT is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.
Verma's counsel said the vice admiral will challenge at the AFT the government's order rejecting his petition. He had also filed a statutory complaint with the Ministry on April 10, challenging Singh's appointment, and asked for a response within 10 days. However, as there was no response from the ministry, he approached the tribunal on April 24.
In his petition, Verma questioned why he was overlooked for the top post despite being the senior-most in the line of command, terming the government's decision as "wrongful".
The government had, in March, named Singh as the next chief of naval staff, to succeed Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 30. The government made the selection following a merit-based approach and did not go with the tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post.
Verma, senior to Singh, was among the contenders for the top post.
Merit-Based Step
The government had, in March, named Karambir Singh as the next chief of naval staff, to succeed Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 30. The government made the selection following a merit-based approach and did not go with the tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post
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