In Brief
Air Commodore NK Sharma served in the Indian Air Force's Judge Advocate General (JAG) department and was considered for promotion to Air Vice Marshal in 2015. When the JAG (Air) post was upgraded to Air Vice Marshal rank in 2012, the government did not form a separate promotion board for filling the vacancy. Sharma participated in the 2015 Promotion Board but was not selected. He challenged this before the Armed Forces Tribunal, which directed the government to formulate a policy and reconsider him. The Supreme Court held that tribunals cannot direct policy formulation (an executive function) and that Sharma's challenge was barred because he participated in the process before contesting it. The Court quashed the Tribunal's decision and allowed the appeal.
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