NEW DELHI, Feb 15: The Supreme Court today upheld the 2009 ‘command exit promotion’ policy of the Indian Army and asked the Centre to create 141 additional vacancies to the rank of Colonel to promote officers of ‘Combat Support’ streams.
A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice Kurian Joseph “partly allowed” the appeals of the Ministry of Defence against the March 2015 order of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) which had quashed the Centre’s 2009 ‘command exit promotion’ policy on the ground that it violated Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.
The AFT had quashed the policy on grounds including that the officers of Infantry and Artilery were getting undue favour in promotions over officers of ‘Combat Support’ corps such as Engineering and Medical.
“We partly allow these appeals and while setting aside the order passed by the Tribunal (AFT) direct that the appellants (Centre) shall create 141 additional posts of Colonel to be allocated to ‘Combat Support’ stream for being utilised by appointing officers who are eligible for promotions against the same as in the year 2009 over a period of 5 years till 2014,” the bench said.
The bench, in its verdict, however, agreed with the contention that the officers of arms support corps have been “unfairly” denied their dues in promotions.
“Having given our anxious consideration to the submissions made at the bar, we are of the view that the additional 141 vacancies which ought to have been allocated to Arms Support in the year 2009 were unfairly denied to them.
“It has taken the aggrieved officers and legal process considerable time to have the said unfairness and injustice reversed by creation of additional vacancies. These vacancies shall, therefore, be taken to have been created as in the year 2009 and promotions against same made from out of officers who were eligible for such promotion as in that year,” it said.
In other words, the additional 141 posts shall, for all intents and purposes, be deemed to have been available for being “filled-up as in the year 2009 but to be actually filled-up in 5 years between 2009-2014,” it said.
However, the apex court rejected the argument of the Centre that the Committee chaired by former bureaucrat A V Singh had recommended creation of 1,484 vacancies for the benefit of officers serving in all formations.
“We have no hesitation in holding that there was neither any recommendation regarding reduction in age profile of Unit Commanders in ASC, AOC and EME, nor any recommendation for creation of additional vacancies to benefit officers serving in those formations.
“The argument that the Committee had recommended creation of 1484 vacancies for the benefit of officers serving in all formations is, therefore, without any basis and is accordingly rejected,” it said.
Post-Kargil conflict in 1999, the Government had constituted the Kargil Review Committee and then AVS Committee to explore ways to enhance operational preparedness of the Indian Army.
The bench said the theory of legitimate expectation cannot prevail over the promotion policy intruduced by the Government.
It, however, said there is “legitimate expectation” for officers commissioned into the Indian Army in a given batch, that in the matters of their future promotion, Government will maintain batch parity among officers allocated to Arms, Arms Support and Services.
It said there is nothing “perverse,unreasonable or unfair” about the policy that the age of officers serving in Combat Arms and Combat Arms Support will be lowered by creating additional vacancies to be allotted on Command Exit Model.
“Legitimate expectation as an argument cannot prevail over a policy introduced by the Government, which does not suffer from any perversity, unfairness or unreasonableness or which does not violate any fundamental or other enforceable rights vested in the respondents,” it said.
The apex court, in its judgement, said, “In the case in hand, the Government has, as a matter of policy, decided to lower the age profile of officers serving in Combat Arms and Combat Arms Support pursuant to the recommendations made by the Expert Committees.
“There is nothing perverse,unreasonable or unfair about the policy that the age of officers serving in Combat Arms and Combat Arms Support will be lowered by creating additional vacancies to be allotted on Command Exit Model.
“In the absence of any perversity, unreasonableness or unfairness in the policy so introduced, we see no reason to allow the argument based on legitimate expectation to unsettle or undo the policy which is otherwise laudable and intended to render the Indian Army more efficient and better equipped for combat situations,” it had said.
The apex court had on November 26 last year reserved its verdic on the appeal filed by Centre while observing that soldiers give best part of their lives to the country.
The court had also asked the Centre to come up with additional vacancies in the armed forces.
Earlier, Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the Centre, had told the bench that Government was ready to create 141 additional vacancies of Army officers of the rank of Colonel and above and they would be made available to officers over a period of time.
The Centre had supported the “command exit promotion” policy saying, army officers of certain branches were given “combat edge” in promotions and it has never been disputed.
The Government had in 2001 asked the Chief of Army Staff to refer to the recommendations of AV Singh Committee (AVSC) on restructuring of the officer cadre of the Army. The AVSC report was aimed at reducing the age of battalion commanders. (PTI)
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