SC quashes Centre's decision, asks it to appoint Lt Gen Manomoy Ganguly as DGMS (Army)
New Delhi, Oct 30: The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the Centre's decision to appoint Air Marshal Rajvir Singh as Director General of Medical Services (Army) and asked it to appoint Lt General Manomoy Ganguly to the post.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said the case pertaining to Lt Gen Ganguly has had a "chequered history" as he had to initially fight for the promotion and then for the post of DGMS (Army).
"As a result, we allow this writ petition (of Ganguly) and quash orders dated August 10, 2018 (to appoint Rajvir Singh) and issue mandamus directing the respondents (Centre and others) to appoint petitioner (Ganguly) as DGMS (Army)," the bench said.
The bench reproduced the findings of the Armed Forces Tribunal which had said, "There has been some attempt (though we are not suggesting as to whether it was deliberate or bona fide) in denying the respondent his claim for promotion to the rank of Lt. General."
The bench also said its verdict had asked the Defence Minister to consider the plea of Ganguly seeking appointment as DGMS (Army) "objectively" and "dispassionately".
"We may point out at the outset that case of the petitioner (Ganguly) is that in spite of judgment of August 01, 2018 passed by this court ..., the matter has not been examined dispassionately and objectively keeping in view the law laid down therein as well as the spirit behind the said judgment," said Justice Sikri, who wrote 39-page verdict for the bench.
According to the petitioner, the government and other authorities are finding one or the other excuse to deny him the post of DGMS (Army), it said.
The court however added that the exercise undertaken by the Union Defence Minister in the matter did not suffer from "any element of unfairness".
It added: "We may record at the outset that the exercise undertaken by Raksha Mantri does not suffer from any element of unfairness and that Raksha Mantri has endeavoured to arrive at the decision, by interpreting the order of this Court in a particular way...The record shows, at least, that the exercise undertaken in arriving at the said decision dated August 10, 2018 is bona fide, at least insofar as the Raksha Mantri is concerned.
"At the same time, we are constrained to remark that the decision making process suffers from some significant errors and it cannot be said to be unblemished."
The bench took note of the submission of Ganguly that Singh was already posted as DGMS (Air) and his "lateral shifting" to the post of DGMS (Army) by the government was not justified.
"First fundamental error has occurred in lateral shifting of Air Marshal Rajvir Singh and considering his candidature along with others. It is contrary to the policy Guidelines dated July 10, 1992. The Guidelines permit such a lateral shifting 'only in exceptional circumstances'. No such exceptional circumstances are sated anywhere on the basis of which this move of lateral shifting is justified," the judgement said.
There is a chequered history in this case, which is getting curious with each round of litigation, it said, referring to the sequence of various litigations undertaken by Lt General Ganguly.
The first round of litigation started when Ganguly, who was then working as Major General, was denied promotion to the next rank of Lieutenant General.
After getting the promotion from Armed Forces Tribunal and then from the apex court, Ganguly had to move the court for being promoted to the post of DGMS (Army).
Later, the authorities considered the case of promotion of Ganguly for the post of DGMS (Army).
Instead of considering Ganguly, the authorities went on to appoint Air Marshal Rajvir Singh, who was already holding the post of DGHMS (Air), to the post of DGMS (Army) on August 10.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
