Avadesh Prakesh senior-most officer to be dismissed from Army

Former military secretary Lt. Gen. Avadesh Prakash, found guilty by an Indian Army court martial Saturday, is the senior-most Lt. Gen. of the army to be dismissed from service, though after his retirement, for an offence committed while still serving the force.

He is also the sixth three-star officer of the Indian Army to face charges of indiscipline.

Prakash was found guilty on three counts, including intent to defraud and conduct unbecoming of an officer under sections 45 and 52 of the Army Act respectively by a court martial held in Guwahati.

Another Lt. Gen. cashiered from service, also after retirement, was S.K. Sahni of the Army Service Corps earlier this year on charges of corruption in ration supplies to army personnel in a case that dated back to early 2007.

Apart from Avadesh Prakash and Sahni, the army has also court martialed Lt. Gen. P.K. Rath, a serving officer who was convicted in the same Sukna land scam by a court martial earlier this year. Rath is, however, the first serving lieutenant general to be convicted in a court martial.

The former 33 Corps Commander, Rath was found guilty on three counts in the land scam in which a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued to a private realtor to transfer a 71-acre plot of land adjacent to the Sukna military station in West Bengal's Siliguri district.

Another Army Service Corps Lt. Gen. - S.K. Dahiya - was also indicted in a separate case involving irregularities in the procurement of frozen meat for troops posted in Ladakh and discrepancies in procurement of dry rations, in early 2007. Dahiya is now retired from service, though he was awarded a recordable censure by the Northern Army Commander for the offences.

Another three-star general to face indiscipline charges is the former Engineer-in-Chief, Lt. Gen. A.K. Nanda, who was accused of sexual assault by the wife of a junior officer during an official visit to Israel last April.

A court of inquiry had left off Nanda with a "reproof" -- or reprimand in common parlance -- by the army for acting against service decorum, but the probe report said the charges against him could not be proved conclusively. He too has retired.


 

Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

As US-Pakistan ties go into "deep freeze" over the NATO strike along the Afghanistan border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, Islamabad has refused to participate  »

Enough is enough, says Pakistan on spilling citizens' blood

Growing US-Pakistan tension worries Kashmiris

  Most Read

In contrast to the courage shown by the prime minister and the party in charting a new course, the opposition has again exposed itself as comprising opportunistic curmudgeons with a blinkered outlook  »

India could be China if there was less democracy: Mahathir

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad Friday said India could be China in terms of economic success if it was "less democratic" and remarked "sometimes democracy can paralyse decision-making". "India would be like China if it was little less democratic," Mohamad   »

  News Pick

Sukna scam: Lt. Gen Avadesh Prakash held guilty, dismissed

An army court martial here Saturday found former military secretary, Lt.Gen. (retd) Avadesh Prakash, guilty on three counts and dismissed him from service for involvement in a land scam at Sukna military  »

Picture of the Day

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Emeritus Senior Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, unveiled the bust and the Marker of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, at Asian Civilizations Museum, in Singapore on November 20, 2011.

(Photo: M. Asokan )