Vice Admiral Bimal Verma (Left) superseded by Vice Admiral Karambir Singh (Right)
Vice Admiral Bimal Verma moved the Armed Forces Tribunal today over the government superceding him and appointing his junior, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next Navy chief. Vice Admiral Bimal Verma has accused the government of ignoring his seniority. He will be represented by his daughter at the Tribunal.
Vice Admiral Karambir Singh will supersede Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, when he takes over as the take over as the new Navy Chief after Admiral Sunil Lanba retires on May 31.
This is the second time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has overlooked seniority for merit in the appointment of service chiefs.
In 2016, General Bipin Rawat was appointed Army Chief superseding Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, who headed the Eastern Command and was next in line to be the army chief, besides Southern Command Chief PM Hariz.
A second generation military officer and an alumni of the prestigious National Defence Academy, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh has been heading the Eastern Naval Command since October 2017. He will be the first helicopter pilot of the navy to head it.
As an ace helicopter pilot, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh has flown Chetaks and Kamovs. In his illustrious career, the Vice Admiral commanded four ships including the ICG Chandbibi (patrol craft of Indian Coast Guard), INS Vijaydurg (missile ship), INS Rana and INS Delhi (destroyers).