NAIB SUBEDAR MAHANTESH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed challenging the Signal dtd. 21/4/2021 issued by the respondent no. 3 which cancelled the petitioner's detailment for the United Nations Mission, Congo (hereinafter referred to as the 'UN Mission') relying upon paragraph 636(B) of the Army Medical Corps Record Office Instructions- 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the 'AMC ROI').

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner was enrolled in the Army Medical Corps on 30/9/2009. The petitioner was serving at the rank of Havildar and was posted to the Command Hospital, Southern Command, Pune on 10/2/2019. The petitioner was selected for the UN Mission vide Army Headquarters, DGMS letter dtd. 16/4/2021, however, the nomination of the petitioner was cancelled on the ground mentioned in paragraph 636(B) of the AMC ROI. Paragraph 636(B) of the AMC ROI is reproduced hereinbelow:

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner had, indeed, proposed to file an Original Application (for short, 'OA') before the learned Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench Mumbai (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal'). She contends that in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Tribunal, an advance copy of the OA was served on the respondents before registering the same before the Tribunal. Reply to the proposed OA was also given by the respondents, however, thereafter, for the reason of Nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19, the proposed OA was not registered. She further submits that subsequent to the cancellation of the petitioner's nomination for the UN Mission, the petitioner was promoted to the post of Naib Subedar vide letter dtd. 23/5/2021 with effect from 1/6/2021, and therefore, the petitioner does not wish to file the said OA.