Navy increases captains’ tenure to 08 years
The move is being perceived to preclude time-scale captains' promotions to commodore

The Indian Navy has increased the mandatory tenure of captains to eight years before officers can be eligible for promotion to the rank of commodore. As a result of this, captains in the navy will spend an additional three years in the rank – up from the existing five-year tenure, before they are eligible to being considered for promotion to commodore. For some batches, the wait will even go up to nine years.

According to a letter issued last month, this measure has been taken ‘Towards managing the overall number of Cmdes/Capts in the Navy’.

Cutting the Nose to Spite the Face

But this letter is also being perceived as a step aimed at denying the rank of commodore to time-scale captains, who had been allowed to retire at the same age as selection-grade captains by the Supreme Court and the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

Although the navy had said in 2005 that time-scale captains ‘will not be constituted as Cmde subsequently’, this principle was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2013 and the Armed Forces Tribunal in 2014. There is no existing regulation that prevents time-scale captains from being considered for promotion to the rank of commodore.

But with the the Supreme Court and AFT judgements in 2013 and 2014, such a prospect is now gaining imminence and this new navy letter is being perceived as being framed to preclude such an eventuality even though this order is specifically meant to apply to selection-grade captains, since the conditions of service are supposed to be equal according to these two judgements.

Since time-scale promoted captains have fewer years of residual service, this decision to lengthen the tenure of all captains will mean they will retire before they can be considered for promotion to the rank of commodore, since they are typically supposed to be promoted from commander to captain only after 26 years of service, according to the recommendations of the Ajay Vikram Singh Committee.

It may be pertinent to note that the Principal Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal held in 2014 that the armed forces could not discriminate between time-scale captains and selection-grade captains for the purpose of conditions of service like pay, and retirement age. While time-scale captains were required to retire at the age of 54, selection-grade captains retired at the age of 56 (57 in the case of education branch officers). The AFT based this decision on a 2013 judgement by the Supreme Court that said there could be no discrimination between time-scale captains and selection-grade captains and their equivalent in the three services for the purpose of determining their retirement age. Although the army and air force had complied with this order, with the air force even recalling wrongfully retired officers to service, the navy did not do so until October 2015.

The navy’s July 2018 letter also says, “The timelines and subsequent constitution of Capts as Cmde will be reviewed in 2021.”

It may also be noted that the navy’s perceived reluctance in implementing the recommendations of the Ajay Vikram Singh Committee for promotional reforms in 2005 will act as a detriment to the prospects of naval officers. The navy, which is entitled to fewer vacancies for captain-ranked officers in comparison to the other two services because of virtually assured promotion to commodore, is able to promote only about 25 percent of its officers. That’s why the navy’s new policy is being perceived to the disadvantage of even the select list.

Pay Difference

According to government orders issued in 2008, captains with three years or more of service were also eligible for the grade pay equivalent to that of a commodore. Time-scale captains do not receive this inspite of the above-mentioned orders of the Supreme Court and the AFT.

The navy manages to save INR 200/- per month per eligible time-scale captain by doing this.

The effect of the AFT order was that time-scale captains would also become eligible for the grade pay of commodores, like their selection-grade counterparts, and be entitled to an additional INR 200/- per month, albeit seven to nine years behind their batchmates.

This is something that is already being denied by the navy despite existing Special Naval Instructions and the equivalence decided by the Supreme Court and the AFT.

A 2012 defence ministry letter had ‘clarified that Col (Selection Grade/equivalent and Col Time Scale/equivalent are identical for fixation and stepping up of pay.’

With this letter, the navy is also attempting to ensure that time-scale captains are not entitled to this.

This could also present a legal difficulty of equivalence as their counterparts in the air force and army would remain beneficiaries of this entitlement.