Interfering with approved promotion breaches trust between Army, its officers, says AFT

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Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 7

 The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) on Friday held that once the promotion of an officer has been approved by the competent authority, subordinate establishments are not supposed to interfere with the process by introducing suo moto riders.

Directing the Army to promote a Brigadier from the Judge Advocate General’s Department to the rank of Major General, the Tribunal’s Bench comprising Justice Umesh Chandra Srivastava and Vice Admiral Abhay Raghunath Karve ruled that the act of the Army authorities in not allowing the officer to assume the charge of the next higher rank despite being properly selected without any rider cannot be justified in any manner. “It breaches the trust between an organisation like the Indian Army and its officers which is not in the interest of the organiation or the nation,” the Bench observed.

Brig Javed Iqbal, a 1989 batch officer, had been placed in a non-promotable low medical category for hypertension in August 2018. In October 2020, he was considered by No. 1 Selection Board for promotion to the rank of Major General against a vacancy that was to arise in December 2020. The board’s recommendation to promote him was approved by the Government of India and the result was declassified in May 2021.

A re-categorisation medical board was held in February 2021, where his blood pressure was found to be within permissible parameters, but his low medical category was retained and not upgraded.

 A re-medical board held in September 2021 on orders of Chief of the Army Staff, upgraded his medical category, which was also approved by the competent medical authority. However, the Director General Medical Services (Army) did not accept the upgrade citing various reasons, including the contention that he had not stated correct facts regarding his medication.

 The officer had contended that his medical category only prohibited him from serving at high altitude areas above 9,000 feet, where as the post to which he was to be promoted is tenable only in New Delhi.

The Tribunal observed that from a perusal of the facts of the case, it was crystal clear that the officer’s selection for promotion by the board had been made knowing fully well his medical status. It was also clear that the selection was not subject to meeting medical criteria and was without any riders.

“When the selection for promotion has been approved without any rider of specific medical criteria, the respondents are now not supposed to interfere with the approval of the Competent Authority by suo moto introducing a rider of meeting medical criteria, and they are only supposed to give effect to the approval by allowing the applicant to assume the rank of Major General, instead of sitting over the matter,” the Bench said.

 “This action of the respondents is not appreciable at all, more so, when the applicant is not only approved for promotion but is fully fit for the post from all corners,” the Bench further stated.