21 years on, Maj Gen promoted

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 23

Over 21 years after a Major General who was approved for promotion as Lieutenant General had to retire because the government had claimed that no vacancy was available in the higher rank, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has held that the officer was deprived of his well-deserved promotion on “non-existent, rather false grounds” and ordered that he be granted the rank of Lt Gen with all consequential benefits.

AFT’s Chandigarh Bench, comprising Justice MS Chauhan and Lt Gen Munish Sibal, held that the respondents had not only been unfair to the petitioner, Maj Gen MMR Narang, but also with the court by concealing facts, which amounted to playing fraud on the court as well as the opposite party.

Maj Gen Narang was approved for the rank of Lt Gen but was made to retire in January 1997 as Maj Gen on the pretext that there was no vacancy. The officer, belonging to the Corps of Engineers, had then filed a petition in the High Court in 1997, which was later transferred to the AFT, averring that there were three vacancies available, including Director General Border Roads (DGBR) and Director General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC).

He had stated that the appointment of DGNCC was kept vacant for five months and ultimately given to another officer of a junior batch, Lt Gen BS Malik, who was granted extension in service for three months and then promoted.

Another officer, Maj Gen RJ Mordecai, who was declared fit to hold a “staff” appointment was not given the DGNCC post but was appointed as DGBR, a “command” appointment, to keep the DGNCC post vacant, he had contended.

It was also claimed that the prevalent system of “chain appointments” was not carried out due to political considerations.

The AFT observed that the government had filed a false affidavit in the High Court saying there were only two vacancies for the Corps of Engineers, while in reality there were three.

The AFT pointed out that even before the promotion of Lt Gen Malik, for reasons best known to the respondents, it had been stated by the respondents to the court that the DGNCC post had been “earmarked”. It was also observed that the government had submitted before the Delhi High Court in another case that there were actually 56 vacancies of Lt Gen, including four acting vacancies, which had been hidden from the AFT in this case by claiming only 52 vacancies were available.

The AFT has also imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on the government.

Sources said the case was a grim reminder of the ghosts of political meddling in military appointments in the 1990s. Many controversies regarding political interference had erupted in the Ministry of Defence during the tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Raksha Mantri.

Govt concealed facts, rules tribunal 

• In 1997, Maj Gen MMR Narang moved HC claiming three vacancies of Lt Gen’s rank were available, including those of Director General Border Roads (DGBR) and Director General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) 
• While DGNCC post was kept vacant for five months and given to a junior batch officer, another officer fit to hold a ‘staff’ appointment was given the DGBR post, a ‘command’ appointment
• The AFT, to which the case was transferred, observed that the govt filed a false affidavit claiming two vacancies were available, when there were three