Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, former military secretary who is facing court martial in the Sukna land scam, is likely to approach the Armed Forces Tribunal against the disciplinary action initiated against him by the army.
"Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash has taken leave for ten days beginning Tuesday," senior Army officers said in New Delhi amidst speculation that he was asked to proceed on leave by Army chief General Deepak Kapoor.
Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, indicted in the Sukna land scam, was attached to the Kolkata-based Eastern Command on Wednesday and asked to report there on February 25.
Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, who is facing a court martial in connection with the Sukna land scam, has alleged that Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor had not applied his mind before changing his decision to initiate proceedings against him. He also said the fresh court of inquiry ordered by the Armed Forces Tribunal would help bring out new facts and clear his role in the entire case.
After the reconvened Court of Inquiry (COI) was completed earlier this month, the army initiated the summary of evidence against him at the Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata from Tuesday and General Prakash was slapped with five charges.
Former military secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash was on Saturday found guilty on three counts by an army court in Guwahati in the Sukna land scam involving transfer of 71 acres of land adjacent to the military station in West Bengal. He is the seniormost army officer to face court martial.
Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, who is facing court martial for the Sukna land scam, on Thursday challenged the punitive action against him, saying Army rules were violated in the case. He approached the Armed Forces Tribunal, seeking quashing of the charges under the Army Act 123 and his attachment to the Western Command. Prakash alleged that the Court of Inquiry conducted by the Eastern Command in the case had violated the Army Rule 180.
In an interview with CNN-IBN, Lieutenant General Prakash claimed that the Army chief had ensured that he was punished in spite of being not guilty.
Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, the former military secretary against whom court martial proceedings have been initiated by the Army in the Sukna land scam, has been attached to the Western Command and asked to stay in Delhi till further orders."Lieutenant General Prakash has been attached to the Western Command and asked to stay put in Delhi till further orders for summary of evidence is issued," a senior Army officer said on Tuesday.
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Wednesday granted a six-week extension to the Army to complete "all the process" in the Sukna land scam case, a week after the two-month deadline given by it lapsed. The Tribunal also allowed former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, against whom a Court of Inquiry (COI) in the case was recently completed at the Eastern Army Command, to leave Kolkata.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Lieutenant General (retired) Avadesh Prakash challenging the Court of Inquiry ordered against him in the Sukna land scam case. A bench of Justices V S Sirpurkar and Mukundakam Sharma asked the retired army officer to submit himself to the inquiry to prove his innocence. When senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi tried to point out certain alleged irregularities in the proceedings, the bench snubbed him.
Lieutenant General P K Rath, former commander of 33 Corps of the Army, withdrew his petition against his court martial in the Sukna land scam from the Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
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