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There are about 22 lakhs exservicemen in the country. They are the most valuable human resources that the country can make use of. The objective of this blog is to provide a medium for exchanging views & educating the veterans of the Armed Forces by disseminating important information. This Blog has been conceived by a team comprising of Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd., Veteran BS Sohi(Both IAF), Veteran S.C. Sharma(Navy) & Veteran Malkiat Singh(Army). The postings in this Blog are only the personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the “Ex Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association” blog team. These are expressed in good faith for the general welfare of the veterans of the Indian Armed Forces. The contents of this blog are neither for business nor for any commercial gains. Neither the “Ex Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association” blog team nor the individual authors of any material on this blog accept responsibility for any loss or damage however caused (including through negligence), which you may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of your use or reliance on information contained on or accessed through this blog. All views and opinions presented are solely those of the surfer veterans and do not necessarily represent those of “Ex Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Association” blog team. This is not an official blog site. This blog is run by a team of Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces. It is not affiliated to or officially recognized by the MOD or Air Hq., Naval Hq., Army Hq. or Govt/State.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Land ScamAntony orders court martial of Lt GenAjay BanerjeeTribune:Veteran Prabhjot Singh PLS Retd.

Land ScamAntony orders court martial of
Lt GenAjay BanerjeeTribune News Service
New Delhi, January 27Virtually cracking the whip and
differing from the opinion of the Indian Army chief,
Defence Minister AK Antony today recommended that
court martial proceedings be initiated against military
secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash.
Army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor had recommended only
a milder “administrative action” against Lt Gen
Prakash and two others, Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and
Major-Gen P Sen, while he okayed disciplinary
proceedings against Lt Gen PK Rath in what is now
known as the “Darjeeling land scam”. Administrative
action is a mild reprimand when compared with
disciplinary proceedings, which can lead up to a court
martial.
The advice of the Defence Minister had reached the
Army chief this evening, sources said while confirming
the developments. Such an advice coming from the
Defence Minister was unprecedented. The onus is now on
the Army chief to take action. Sources said the Army
chief is “unlikely to differ on the Defence Minister’s advice”
and it was likely that General Prakash will not escape
unscathed.
Last week, Adjutant-General Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal
acting on the advice of the Army chief issued notices for
taking administrative action against Military Secretary
General Prakash and others. General Prakash, who is to
retire on January 31, has replied to the notice, sources
said today.
Last week, Antony had questioned the Army chief as to why
different yardsticks were applied in deciding the nature
of action against four senior Generals. The court of inquiry
ordered by the Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen VK Singh
had indicted two officers, including General Prakash, for
their role in issuing a no-objection certificate to a private
establishment that falsely claimed to be establishing an
affiliate of the well known Ajmer-based Mayo College on
land adjacent to the Sukna military station in Darjeeling
district.
On Saturday, General Kapoor had explained to the defence
ministry why he wanted only an administrative action
against Prakash while the COI ordered by General VK Singh
had wanted General Prakash be sacked. The Army chief ’s
ruling given on January 11 was in contrast to the
recommendation of the COI and that had prompted Antony
to seek a reply.
The Defence Minister had reportedly asked General Kapoor
as to what was the basis to take disciplinary action against
only one of the four senior Generals who were facing a probe.
Lt Gen Rath, is his earlier capacity as commander of the 33
corps at Darjeeling, had a major role in of signing of a
memorandum of understanding with a private realtor for a
70-acre plot adjacent to the military station near Darjeeling.
Rath during the court of inquiry had blamed the military
secretary for putting pressure on him to allow the MoU.
Veteran Prbahjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob:098554-09128 Telefax:0175-5000896.

Chatwal (Chhatwal) among Padma Bhushan Awardees: Vet. Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

S. Sant Singh Chatwal (Chhatwal) honoured with
Padma Bhushan Award
S. Sant Singh Chatwal (Chhatwal) is an Ex-Naval Trainee
Pilot and a distant relative of Vet. Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal.
Clean chit to Chatwal : Tribune News Service.
New Delhi, January 27Just a day after a controversy erupted

over conferring the Padma Bhushan award on New York
based NRI Sant Singh Chatwal, the government today
came out in strong defence and clarified that he had
been discharged by a court in Mumbai and there was
nothing adverse on record against him.
The government specified the role of Chatwal in the

Indo-US nuclear deal saying he was actively involved
in securing support for the nuclear deal among the
members of the Congress of the United States. It also
referred to him as “tireless advocate” of India’s
interests in the US.
Referring to the allegations of financial irregularities

against him, the government clarified that between
1992 and 1994, the CBI had registered five cases
against him and some bank officials for conniving
with the intention of defrauding the Bank of Baroda
and Bank of India. Three of these cases were closed
by the CBI itself while in the remaining two cases,
the Court discharged Chatwal.
The “Padma Awards” are conferred only after

consideration in terms of the guidelines regulating
the award and after observance of established and
elaborate procedures. A ‘due diligence’ exercise is
undertaken in respect of each awardee in consultation
with appropriate agencies before announcement of
the award, Onkar Kedia, the ministry spokesperson
said. No award is conferred except on the
recommendation of the Awards Committee,
constituted for the purpose and after the ‘due
diligence’ has been done, he added.
Chatwal was among the 43 people chosen by the

government for the prestigious Padma Bhushan on
the eve of the Republic Day earlier this week. The
decision sparked off a controversy with the BJP
objecting to the move because of the CBI cases
against him.
The Ministry said Chatwal was a Trustee of the

William J Clinton Foundation, which focuses on
issues such as health care, climate change and
economic empowerment of the underprivileged in
the world community. He made frequent trips to India
to provide relief to victims of tsunami and AIDS. He
is also a prominent leader of the Indian-American
community, it said.
Veteran Prbahjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob:098554-09128 Telefax:0175-5000896.