Admiral Karambir Singh on Friday took charge as the 24th Navy chief replacing incumbent Sunil Lanba.
"Admiral Karambir Singh PVSM AVSM ADC assumes charge as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff," the Navy spokesperson tweeted.
Admiral Lanba passed on the baton to Admiral Singh at a ceremony in the South Block on Friday.
Earlier on May 18, the Defence Ministry has rejected Vice Admiral Bimal Verma's petition challenging the appointment of his junior, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, as the next Navy Chief, holding that seniority is not the sole criteria for selection.
In an order, the defence ministry said Verma's statutory petition dated April 10 against the appointment of Vice Admiral Singh to the top post is devoid of merit and has been rejected in exercise of powers under Section 23 of the Navy Act 1957.
Verma, commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command and senior-most naval commander, had moved a military tribunal last month questioning Vice Admiral Singh's appointment as the next Navy Chief, overlooking his seniority. Singh will take over as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is retiring on May 31.
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