Seema Chaudhary gets fresh Navy Permanent Commission review after Supreme Court order

Seema Chaudhary will have her claim for Permanent Commission in the Indian Navy reconsidered after the Supreme Court ordered a fresh assessment on Wednesday, October 28. The court set aside the selection board’s April 12, 2024 rejection and directed completion of the exercise within six weeks.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. It found that the board had not properly weighed the officer’s favourable annual confidential reports when deciding her suitability.

Chaudhary serves in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General branch and was commissioned in August 2007. Her case returned to court after an earlier direction that her claim should receive an individual assessment.

Court questions treatment of service reports

The judges identified problems with the board’s reliance on earlier reports that did not recommend Permanent Commission. They questioned why grades sufficient for promotion could be treated as inadequate when assessing a longer-term commission.

Seema Chaudhary had received recommendations for Permanent Commission in 2013 and 2014. Relevant entries in reports covering earlier years had been left blank, and the court said missing entries should not operate against her.

The bench directed that reports from July 14, 2008, to October 31, 2014, be treated as carrying positive recommendations. It clarified that the competent authorities would determine which reports to examine, subject to the court’s directions.

Her lawyer argued that the board had failed to follow the earlier requirement for a standalone assessment by again relying on previous non-recommendations. The Navy, represented by Attorney General R. Venkataramani, maintained that it had independently considered her suitability.

The attorney general also argued that extensions of Short Service Commission tenure for commendable work did not create an automatic right to Permanent Commission. The court nevertheless found errors in the assessment and required a fresh board review rather than directly granting the commission.

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