Vishnu Bhagwat Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat , AVSM , PVSM is a former Chief of the Naval Staff of India . A talented and all - round cadet of the Indian Navy , he had varied experience and combat , command and management . He is the first and only chief of naval staff who was sacked while still serving . Career . He went to School at The Lawrence School , Sanawar on a prestigious Govt . of India scholarship for talented children . Vishnu Bhagwat was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1960 . A graduate of the National Defence Academy , he was awarded the Telescope for the Best All - Round Cadet on the training ship , INS Tir and the Sword of Honour for the Best All - Round Midshipman of the Fleet . In his 36 years of service he had a vast and varied experience in combat operations , warship production , acquisition and acceptance , personnel management and command . He was actively associated with the 1961 Goa Liberation Operations . During the 1971 Indo – Pak war his ship was in the escort groups for missile boats responsible for humbling the adversary . A Specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare , he was Flag Lt . to Chief of the Naval Staff in 1968 – 70 and Naval Assistant to Chief of the Naval Staff in 1986 - 87 . Vishnu Bhagwat completed his first major command in INS Amini with the Western Fleet before being assigned as the Fleet Operations Officer of the same Fleet ( 1978 – 79 ) . He commissioned the third Rajput class guided missile destroyer ( DDG ) , INS Ranjit in September 1983 and was in command for 2½ years during which the ship set new fleet standards / records in weapons , sensors and operations . On promotion to the Flag rank in 1988 he served as additional DG Defence Planning Staff , Chief of Staff of Western Naval Command and commanded the Eastern Fleet . He was Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff for two years at the Naval Headquarters . Prior to taking over as the Chief of the Naval staff on 1 October 1996 , he was Flag Officer Commanding - in - Chief Western Naval Command . A Graduate of National Defence College , Bhagwat is a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ( AVSM ) in 1986 and was conferred the Param Vishisht Seva Medal ( PVSM ) on 26 January 1996 . Sacking . Vishnu Bhagwat was appointed to chief of naval staff from 30 September 1996 and was sacked on 30 December 1998 under Article 310 of the Constitution of India . The unprecedented and much publicised row between the government and the admiral began after the Cabinet appointments committee appointed Vice - Admiral Harinder Singh as deputy chief of the naval staff . Refusing to accept the Cabinet order , Admiral Bhagwat went public with his opposition to the government ' s decision . The government said that a series of actions from Admiral Bhagwat " were in deliberate defiance of the government . " The Supreme Court of India later dismissed a petition by the sacked Navy chief challenging the Government ’ s decision to dismiss him from service and the punitive measure to strip him of the title of admiral . Other controversies . In 2003 , Bhagwat reportedly questioned installation of Veer Sarvarkar ' s portrait in the Central Hall of Parliament of India . This invited the ire of the Shiv Sena , a political party of India .