Long-Awaited Justice for Retired Army Officers: Supreme Court Upholds Promotions to Lieutenant Colonel. 

Long-Awaited Justice for Retired Army Officers: Supreme Court Upholds Promotions to Lieutenant Colonel.

 

Shimla:

 

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India has granted promotions to retired Army officers to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after a protracted legal battle spanning 20 years. The decision, which comes on the recommendation of the Ajay Vikram Singh Committee, recognizes the officers’ eligibility for promotion from their previous rank of Major, which had been denied due to a technical error.

Among the beneficiaries is Lieutenant Colonel Basant Singh Bhardwaj, a gallantry award recipient from Kotli in Himachal Pradesh. He shared the Ministry of Defence’s order, issued on October 5, 2024, which stipulates that the committee aimed to promote officers after 13 years of service to maintain a youthful and energetic force.

Although the committee’s recommendations were implemented by the Ministry of Defence in December 2004, a specific group of “Regimental Commissioned Officers” did not receive the benefits due to bureaucratic oversight. Despite repeated appeals to military leadership and the Defence Minister, justice eluded these officers for years.

In 2009, some officers from this group were promoted after being converted to a “Special List Commission.” Inspired by this, Major Ravinder Singh filed a case with the Armed Forces Tribunal in Kolkata, which ruled in their favor in April 2011. Similar cases in Lucknow and Delhi also yielded positive outcomes, but the Ministry of Defence sought to suspend these orders in 2013, leading to further delays.

After nearly a decade of persistence, the Supreme Court finally heard the arguments from both sides. It concluded that the officers had been unjustly treated and dismissed the Ministry’s appeal, ordering promotions effective from December 16, 2004, along with payment of pensions and arrears within six months.

As a result, all 204 eligible officers, now aged between 70 and 75, will finally receive the promotions they rightfully earned. They expressed gratitude to the Defence Minister, the Government of India, and their faith in divine justice for this long-overdue recognition.

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