BRIG ROHIT MEHTA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, after being commissioned into 63 Cavalry, an armoured regiment on 13/6/1992, was first promoted to the rank of Colonel in September 2009 and then to the rank of Brigadier in March 2018, wherein he commanded 62 Armoured Brigade [Hereinafter referred to as 'Armd Bde"] from 31/3/2018 to 5/7/2020 and earned 5 Confidential Reports [Hereinafter referred to as 'CR"] during this period. Of these, though in the first three CRs he was graded 'Outstanding', however, in CR-4 for the period 1/7/2019 to 11/2/2020 and in CR-5 for the period 12/2/2020 to 30/6/2020, he was graded 'Above Average".

(2.) Aggrieved by such grading, the petitioner filed a statutory complaint dtd. 5/2/2022, seeking expunging of the grading given by the Senior Reviewing Officer' [Hereinafter referred to as 'SRO"] in CR-4 and removal of CR-5 in its entirety, claiming that the said grading of 'Above Average' therein were inconsistent with his previous reports and his achievements and that they are bound to have an adverse effect on his overall profile and be detrimental to his future prospects. Vide order dtd. 22/6/2022, the statutory complaint was rejected as the impugned CRs were found to be fair, objective, well corroborated, performance based and technically valid, and hence did not merit any interference.

(3.) The petitioner then filed an O.A. 288/2022 before the Regional Bench, Jaipur of the Armed Forces Tribunal [Hereinafter referred to as 'AFT"] on 27/7/2022, which was transferred to the Principal Bench, New Delhi vide order dtd. 9/12/2022, and renumbered as O.A. 06/2023.