Selection of next Navy chief in disarray
If the senior-most officer is named chief, his moral authority will be questioned in the wake of accidents under his command.
The sudden resignation of Admiral D.K. Joshi has thrown the succession line to the office of Navy chief for the next decade in disarray. Had Admiral Joshi retired as scheduled in September 2015, his successors would have been Vice-Admirals Satish Soni (2015-18), Girish Luthra (2018-2020) and P. Ajith Kumar (2020-2022).
Whatever choice the government makes in selecting the new Navy chief, it will be a controversial call. If the senior-most officer is named chief, his moral authority will be questioned in the wake of accidents under his command. Any other choice will attract supersession. The contenders for the post of Navy chief are:
1. Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and the Indian Navy’s “Grey Eagle” or senior most aviator. WHAT GOES IN HIS FAVOUR: A Sea Harrier pilot, he’s the Navy’s senior most serving officer. WHAT GOES AGAINST HIM: Most of the recent accidents have taken place under his command. After the resignation of Admiral Joshi, his moral authority may be questioned, particularly because the warships and submarines involved in the mishaps were under his direct command. He had chosen not to follow Joshi’s lead in resigning.
2. Vice-Admiral Robin Dhowan, acting Chief of Naval Staff. WHAT GOES IN HIS FAVOUR: In case Sinha is overlooked over his responsibility for the accidents, Dhowan is the senior most officer left in contention WHAT GOES AGAINST HIM: He has not headed a naval command.
3. Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. WHAT GOES IN HIS FAVOUR: Many see him as the dark horse. As DG Coast Guard, he was closely associated with implementing the post-26/11 revamp of coastal security and is well regarded by Defence Minister A.K. Antony. WHAT GOES AGAINST HIM: The government will have to supersede two officers to appoint him Navy chief. He is No. 3 in seniority.
The process of selecting the new chief has begun. The Intelligence Bureau has started vetting the probable candidates. After the IB verification, a panel of names will be prepared by the Ministry of Defence, and the selection will be made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.