Army officers must serve wherever posted: SC

NEWDELHI: Army officers are dutybound under the oath they take to serve the country wherever they are posted, the Supreme Court has said while disposing of a petition by three army personnel challenging their posting orders.

A bench of justices RF Nariman and Indu Malhotra dismissed the plea by the Army Service Corps personnel, holding the ranks of major, lieutenant and sepoy against the transfer orders. The judges strongly disapproved of the officers questioning their transfers before a judicial forum.

Army personnel’s oath requires them to “go wherever ordered, by land, sea or air.”

The petitioners had challenged their transfer from a non-operational unit to operational areas. They relied on an earlier SC order wherein it was held that Army Services Corps, the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and other minor corps are “non-operational units and formations.”

That case before the court pertained to promotional avenues for army personnel.

As a consequence of the top court judgement, the petitioners said, they were non-operational officers for promotional avenues. Hence, they argued, the same classification should be followed for the purpose of deployment and postings, too.

The Centre opposed the petitioners and cited the oath administered to army personnel. Transfers, the government submitted, were not only a necessary incident of service but an essential condition of service. Postings are a part of their regimental duty and not dependent on their willingness, it said.

The court accepted the Centre’s stand and held that irrespective of the service to which the officers are commissioned, personnel are duty-bound to serve wherever they are ordered to.

ARMY PERSONNEL’S OATH REQUIRES THEM TO “GO WHEREVER ORDERED, BY LAND, SEA OR AIR”