New Delhi, Jan. 29: In accordance with the “advice” of defence minister A.K. Antony, Gen. Deepak Kapoor, the Army Chief, on Friday ordered disciplinary action, which could include a court martial, against the military secretary, Lt. Gen. Avdesh Prakash, in the Sukna land case. Gen. Kapoor had earlier ordered “administrative action” against Lt. Gen. Prakash, which is considered “milder” than disciplinary action. The Army had earlier decided on disciplinary action against another top officer — Lt. Gen. P.K. Rath, former 33 Corps chief, in the same Sukna land case.
On Wednesday, the defence minister had “advised” the Army Chief to order disciplinary action against Lt. Gen. Prakash. The Army chief examined the “advice” throughout Thursday and announced the decision Friday. The defence minister’s advice is considered by the ministry as “binding” on the Army Chief. The timing was significant, given that Lt. Gen. Prakash retires on January 31. With the weekend government holidays coming up, Friday was effectively Lt. Gen. Prakash’s last n Turn to Page 2
working day.
Sources said Lt. Gen. Prakash would soon be “attached” to one of the Army commands for start of disciplinary proceedings. This means he will no longer discharge the functions of a military secretary, even though he will occupy the post till his retirement on Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Prakash is the seniormost Army officer ever to face disciplinary action. The disciplinary action will start with a summary of evidence (serving of chargesheet) where the military secretary will get an opportunity to produce his witnesses in case he pleads not guilty. If the Army feels that there is evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Lt. Gen. Prakash after the summary of evidence, he will face a court martial that could lead to “cashiering” from service or even imprisonment. In case he is “cashiered”, he will lose his pensionary benefits and rank.
Army sources, however, claimed on Friday that the Army Chief had earlier “consulted” the ministry of defence (MoD) before (earlier) ordering administrative action against Lt. Gen. Prakash. Lt. Gen. Prakash, as military secretary, is one of the seven principal staff officers (PSOs) to the Army Chief. Disciplinary action can be taken against an officer even up to three years after retirement.
Lt. Gen. Prakash and Lt. Gen. Rath were among four senior officers probed in the case. The two other officers being probed in the case are the 11 Corps chief, Lt. Gen. Ramesh Halgali, and another senior Army officer, Maj. Gen. P. Sen, against both of whom administrative action is being planned by the Army.
A court of inquiry was ordered last year into the grant of a no-objection certificate (NoC) by the Army for construction on non-Army land adjoining Army land at Sukna in West Bengal in February 2009. The CoI report was later submitted to Army HQ. It has been alleged that the NoC was granted by Lt. Gen. Rath at the behest of Lt. Gen. Prakash.
Lt. Gen. Avdesh Prakash was probed for allegedly concealing information and taking undue interest in furthering the agenda of a civilian businessman. Lt. Gen. Prakash was also probed for allegedly using his position of authority to pressure the staff of the 33 Corps HQ and influencing Lt. Gen. P.K. Rath. Also, Lt. Gen. Prakash is alleged to have actually accompanied the businessman, one Dilip Agarwal, to Rajasthan and visited a reputed educational institution there. Mr Agarwal had wanted to construct an educational institution on the land adjoining the Army land at Sukna, West Bengal.
Army sources had earlier stated that disciplinary action was planned initially only against Lt. Gen. Rath since he was heading the 33 Corps when the NoC was given and that his alleged involvement, according to the Army top brass, seemed greater than that of the other officers, including Lt. Gen. Prakash. But the MoD had rejected this argument.
Age Correspondent