The Election Commission has given the go-ahead to the Defence Ministry for appointment and announcement of the new Navy chief as the Service is without a head for nearly a month after Admiral DK Joshi resigned on February 26 last owning moral responsibility for a spate of mishaps involving warships.
The Defence Ministry had sought the Election Commission’s approval for appointment of the new Navy chief in view of the model of conduct in force for the lok Sabha polls, officials said here on Sunday. The Government is likely to announce the name of the next Chief towards this month end or early April, they added.
As of now, the Navy is without a Chief for nearly a month as the Government is vetting service records of all the contenders for the top job. Normally, this process including report from the Intelligence Bureau and Central Vigilance Commission besides in house scrutiny takes about three to four months. The Government generally announces the name of the next Chief at least two months before incumbent’s retirement date.
Due to Joshi’s sudden resignation, the entire selection process has to be now shortened as the Service cannot remain without a Chief for long.
Explaining the process, officials said after the Defence Ministry shortlists a list of at least three candidates, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet(ACC) headed by the Prime Minister will select the most suitable person. Other members of the ACC comprise Defence Minister and Minister of Department Of Personnel.
While vice chief of Navy, Vice Admiral RK Dhowan is now the acting Chief, five officers including him are in the race for the Navy chief’s post. Other officers include Western Command chief Shekhar Sinha, Eastern Command chief Anil Chopra, Southern Command chief Satish Soni and Strategic Forces Command head SPS Cheema.
Soni was tipped to be the next chief if Joshi had served his tenure but chose to put in his papers more than 16 months before his due date of retirement. It has upset the chain of succession and in the present list after Josh’s resignation, Sinha is the senior most, sources said.
While going through the service records of all the contenders, the Government is also taking all precautions to select the right candidate as it does not want to be criticised, officials said. The Ministry came under fire when it accepted Joshi’s resignation and wants to avoid adverse publicity during polls.