According to news agency ANI, the Armed Forces Tribunal, on Monday, dismissed a petition that was filed by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, challenging the appointment of Admiral Karambir Singh as Navy Chief, soon after Singh’s appointment.

Verma had questioned the decision

Soon after his appointment, Verma had questioned the government's decision of overlooking him for the post of Navy Chief despite him being the senior-most. However, his statutory complaint filed on April 10 was rejected by the Defence Ministry's Joint Secretary (Navy) Richa Mishra who later clarified that though seniority is an important criterion while appointing services chiefs but it is not the "sole" criteria. She also justified her comment by saying that it has been dispensed with in the past too while appointing the Navy chiefs.

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"The Central Government after careful examination of the matter is of the opinion that this statutory petition dated April 10 from Vice Admiral Verma regarding his non-selection as the chief of naval staff is devoid of merit and be rejected," the order of the defence ministry had said, replying to his complaint.

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The ministry had said that the Centre was satisfied

The ministry had also said that the Central Government was satisfied upon examination and that the parameters for selection as evident from consistent practice were applied uniformly to all the officers in the zone of consideration and based on the assessment, while also adding that Verma, being the senior most eligible officer was considered and found unsuitable to tenets of the appointment of Chief of naval staff.

The government of India had appointed Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Chief of Naval Staff and he succeeded  Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba who vacated the office on May 31, 2019.

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(With ANI Inputs)