Vice Admiral  

Singh's appointment as the next navy chief was challenged by Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command Vice Admiral Bimal Verma who had approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT)

The lawyers representing Indian Navy Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, Ankur Chhibber and Verma's daughter Rhea Verma said, "The court took the matter today and directed the government to submit its reply in three weeks’ time. The Government has told the court that it will reply in four weeks regarding the appeal filed on April 23, seeking to stay the government order of March 23 to appoint Karambir Singh as the next Navy Chief instead of him."

Indian Navy Vice Admiral Bimal Verma was commissioned in 1979 and is the brother of Admiral Nirmal Verma, who was the chief of naval staff between 2009-12

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh will be the next Chief of Naval Staff, defence spokesperson informed in a tweet. 

Anil Chawla, vice-admiral of the Indian Navy said that they have not asked Kerala to pay the bill. He said that such reports are baseless.