JUDGMENT

Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud. J.

By the present appeal [The Civil Appeal was admitted for hearing on 13 October 2014.], Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane has questioned the correctness of a judgment dated 6 September 2013 of the Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The AFT rejected his challenge to the selection of Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command and Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra, GOC-in-C, Northern Command as Army Commanders. After the decision of the AFT, Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh (the third respondent) was appointed as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and retired from service on 31 December 2016. Lieutenant General Chachra retired from service on 31 May 2014. The appellant retired from service on 30 September 2014.

2. There are seven Army Commanders and one Vice Chief of Army Staff in the structure of the Indian Army. Six of them command the six regional commands of the Army while the seventh commands the Army Training Command. The position of Vice Chief of Army Staff is equivalent to an Army Commander. The post of Army Commander/Vice Chief of Army Staff, in the rank of Lieutenant General, is the second highest in the hierarchy of