The New Navy Chief Remains, For Now: Vice Admiral Verma Withdraws Plea Challenging Appointment

Vice Admiral Bimal Verma on Tuesday (9 April) withdrew his petition challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next chief of naval staff following a military tribunal asking him to first approach the Ministry of Defence for redressal of his grievance, Hindustan Times has reported.

The government last month named Singh as the next chief of naval staff, succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on 30 May.

Vice Admiral Verma had approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) asking why he was overlooked as the next Navy chief despite being the senior-most in the line of command, reports Economic Times.

According to the HT report, as per rules, he had the option of filing a statutory complaint with the Defence Minister before taking a legal recourse.

He can approach the court if he is not satisfied with the ways his complaint is addressed by the ministry.

The court reportedly asked him why he did not exercise the option of approaching the Ministry. To this, the counsel of Vice Admiral Verma replied that they were of the view that it was outside their purview. Following this the court gave them benefit of doubt and allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea.