NEW DELHI: Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade had been a go-getter right from the day she entered Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and got what she wanted, thanks to her 'influential' IAS father and benevolent political connections.

The rules for allotment of foreign language to the IFS officers on the basis of their rank in the select list was changed only for her batch (1999) to ensure she got her chosen language.

The Supreme Court found this in a judgment that was delivered three and half years ago while reinstating a dismissed IFS officer Mahaveer V Singhvi and imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Union government for wrongfully terminating the services of the 1999 batch IFS officer.

In this judgment, the court noted the sensational allegations of Singhvi against his batch-mate Khobragade. His lawyer Jayant Bhushan said, "Authorities were desperate to cover up the highly dubious and motivated manner in which the rules of allotment (of foreign language) were altered only in respect of the 1999 batch of IFS appointees in order to favour a particular candidate who was graded lower than Singhvi."

Bhushan said despite being graded higher than five other candidates in the select list of 10, Singhvi was denied right of preference relating to allotment of a foreign language of his choice in order to accommodate one Devyani Khobragade, who was graded at two places below Singhvi and wanted German as her first preference.

"A great amount of political pressure was brought to bear upon the authorities concerned to ensure that Khobragade was allotted German as her language preference, as she happened to be daughter of a powerful IAS officer in Maharashtra," Bhushan had alleged.

A bench of then Justices Altamas Kabir, J M Pnachal and Cyriac Joseph said, "From the facts as disclosed and the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties, there is little doubt in our minds that the order dated 13th June, 2002, by which the Singhvi was discharged from service, was punitive in character and had been motivated by considerations which are not reflected in the said order."

"The Union government and ministry of external affairs have not been able to satisfactorily explain why the rules/norms for allotment of languages were departed from only for the year 1999 so that the Singhvi was denied his right of option for German and such choice was given to Khobragade who was at two stages below Singhvi in the gradation list," the bench said.

"The mode of allotment was amended for the 1999 Batch in such a calculated fashion that Ms Khobragade, who was at Serial No.7, was given her choice of German over and above Singhvi, who was graded at two stages above her," the bench had said in its judgment delivered on July 29, 2010.