Vice Admiral Verma files fresh plea in military court on appointment of new Navy Chief

New Delhi: Vice Admiral Bimal Verma on Tuesday filed a fresh petition at a military tribunal here, seeking cancellation of the defence ministry's order appointing Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy Chief.

In his petition, Verma also sought quashing of a note issued by the defence ministry rejecting his plea against Singh's appointment.

"The petition will come up for hearing on Wednesday," Verma's lawyer Ankur Chhibber said. Last week, the Defence Ministry rejected Verma's petition challenging the appointment of his junior, Vice Admiral Singh, as the next Navy Chief. Chhibber said a previous petition filed with the AFT on the issue was withdrawn on Monday for filing the detailed plea on the issue.

In an order last week, the defence ministry said Verma's statutory petition dated April 10 against appointment of Vice Admiral Singh to the top post is devoid of merit and has been rejected in exercise of powers under Section 23 of the Navy Act 1957. Verma, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command and senior-most naval commander, had moved the tribunal last month questioning Vice Admiral Singh's appointment as the next Navy Chief, overlooking his seniority.

Singh is scheduled to take charge as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who will demit office on May 31. The tribunal had on April 25 directed the defence ministry to decide Verma's petition within three weeks.

Rejecting Verma's plea, the defence ministry said a thorough selection process was conducted under which overall service profile of all the contenders for the top post was examined.