Inconsistencies in performance reports: AFT orders review of Major General’s promotion

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has directed the Army to reconsider a Major General’s promotion to Lieutenant General, citing inconsistencies in his performance reports. The tribunal found that the reviewing officer’s (RO) and senior reviewing officer’s (SRO) ratings were not in line with the officer’s overall profile and lacked corroboration.

“Accordingly, we direct the expunction of the entire assessment rendered by the RO and SRO from the confidential reports (CRs) dossier of the officer and consequently he shall be considered afresh with a new profile by the next Special Selection Board (SSB) for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General," AFT’s bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen CP Mohanty ruled in its order of September 27.

The Major General, from the Infantry with June 1988 seniority, was previously denied promotion in December 2021, November 2022, and June 2023. He filed complaints to review his CRs, which were dismissed. The officer claimed that an incident prior to the initiation of the disputed CR led to the RO’s vindictiveness, as he was denied compassionate leave to see his newborn daughter and recalled from leave for an anti-terrorist operation.

“It was incumbent upon the RO and SRO to have plausible reasons for under assessing and downgrading the officer’s grading awarded by the initiating officer (IO), the first in the chain of command for processing CRs, which showed subjectivity on their part in assessing his performance,” Col Indra Sen Singh (retd), the officer’s counsel contended.

“The same can be corroborated by the fact that he was awarded the Army Commander’s Commendation for his performance during the same period to which the impugned CR pertains,” he added.

AFT observed that the officer’s 19 reports showed a healthy mix of top grades, except for the disputed CR. The tribunal ruled that the RO and SRO’s ratings were out of pattern and potentially biased.