Lt General Faces Court-martial for Rs 75 crore procurement scam

The autonomy of the Army has to be respected by the High Court and vice-versa (whether they are retired or not).  The rule of the law has to be allowed to be followed, without causing delay in justice delivery.

Army personnel involved in crime have to be punished according to the Army protocol as well as by civilian rule of the law. We should remind people that Nobody is above the law.

Delhi HC stays Lt Gen Sahni’s court martial
Nov 23, 2008

In the first of its kind case, the Army on Friday decided to initiate court martial proceedings against a retired Lieutenant General on corruption charges but he got temporary reprieve with the Delhi High Court staying such action.
Lt Gen (retd) S K Sahni and six serving officers including a Major General and two Brigadiers were indicted by a court of inquiry on charges of procuring poor quality pulses for soldiers fighting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir four years ago.

Following the Army decision to proceed against him, Sahni moved the High Court which granted him interim stay.

A Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri passed the interim orders hours after the Army said it would court martial Sahni on November 26.

“We direct that there shall be no court martial proceedings convened,” Justice A K Sikri said in his orders, giving relief to the retired officer, who went to the High Court today after the Army Western Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief issued summons to him.

Sahni, who served as the Director General (Supplies and Transport) in Army headquarters and retired from that post in 2006, will be the seniormost army officer, serving or retired, to face such disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act.

The Army invoked laws that provided for action against erring officers after retirement. Sahni and the six officers moved the Delhi High Court against the 2007 findings of the Court of Inquiry which held them guilty.
The serving officers moved the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict and their cases are still pending.

Senior Indian Army Officer?to Face Court Martial

22 November 2008

NEW DELHI – A lieutenant general will face a court martial on November 26 for alleged irregularities in procuring ration for the troops in 2005, a senior official said here on Friday. Lieutenant general is the second highest rank in the Indian Army, and this is the first time that such a senior officer is facing a court martial.
A court of inquiry constituted in 2005 against Lt Gen S.K. Sahni, the then director general of Army Service Corps and Transport, has found enough evidence against him to prosecute him for alleged irregularities in the procurement of frozen meat for troops based in the northern sector.

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