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.