In Brief
Brigadier Nalin Kumar Bhatia challenged his non-empanelment for promotion to Major General, contending that he was unfairly denied consideration in violation of Article 16 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court held that while there is no absolute right to promotion, every eligible officer has a constitutional right to fair and impartial consideration according to applicable promotion rules. The Court found that the selection board's rejection was based on subjective value judgment despite the appellant meeting objective qualifications. Holding that such rejection violated Article 16, the Court allowed the appeal and set aside the non-empanelment decision.
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