Telangana HC upholds BrahMos chief Joshi appointment, sets aside CAT order

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday set aside a Central Administrative Tribunal order that had suspended the appointment of Jaiteerth R Joshi as Director General of BrahMos Aerospace. A division bench of Justices P Sam Koshy and Narsingh Rao Nandikonda ruled that the CAT exceeded the legitimate bounds of judicial review. The court disposed of petitions by Joshi and the Union government challenging the tribunal's December 2025 order.

The CAT had directed the government to reconsider DRDO scientist Sivasubramaniam Nambi Naidu, who argued he was senior to Joshi and entitled to the post. Naidu is seven years senior to Joshi and has served as a distinguished scientist since 2017. The high court had granted an interim stay in January 2025, allowing Joshi to remain in office. BrahMos Aerospace is an Indo-Russian joint venture in which India holds a 50.5% stake. The full court order is yet to be made public.