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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.
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Corruption of this and other kinds involving huge quantities for the consumption or use of our armed forces is an long-established tradiion in India, which is believed to have grown massively after Independence. Food rations, clothing, Canteen stores items, not to speak of weapons and arsenal for fighting, are swallowed in substantial quantities through diversion, or a lot of money changes hands between the sellers and the armed forces' hierarchies involved with these deals. It is a routine scam. No singling out of lone cases will stem the rot, but when an instance is brought to light, it means it is just the tip of the iceberg which should be enough to provoke serious review and overhaul of the system, after hounding out the culprits and awarding them severe punishment. It will be unfair just to punish some small fry involved, but the full hierarchy after due investigation without any influences being brought to distort truth.
I really wonder how our Court issue order so fast . Before assessing the first news very well we got the news there is stay against Court martial. If court can act so first in other cases, then there will be no back log at all.
Proud of my Army. No qualms in investigating the Gens and punishing them when necessary. Excellent work.This stay order business ought to go.