99 out of 100 JD posts vacant in Armed Forces HQ Civil Service

Vacancies have arisen as junior officers can’t be promoted with court cases pending against them

More than 11 years ago, Divya* wrote her Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with the dream of joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

She went through the same process a future IAS officer would undergo, but as her score was lower than required, she joined another Civil Service, the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service [AFHQ(CS)], as a Section Officer, a Gazetted post.

More than a decade later, Ms. Divya is yet to receive her first promotion. She is still a Section Officer.

“Every day, I ask myself, why I am not quitting? And I come to the conclusion that I will be worse off if I quit,” Ms. Divya said. “It affects every aspect of my life. When you are in a situation like this, you start questioning your self worth.”

Ninety-nine out of 100 posts of Joint Directors (JD) in the AFHQ(CS) are vacant due to pending court cases, according to data shared with The Hindu. A Section Officer is eligible for promotion as Deputy Director after six years of service, and then gets duly promoted to Joint Director, Director, and Principal Director.

The court cases are connected to promotions from Deputy Director to Joint Director, leading to a freeze in promotions at lower levels too, with many like Ms. Divya unwitting victims of it.

When contacted, a Ministry of Defence source said: “The matter is in court. As soon as the necessary directions are received from the court, further action will be initiated.”