A farce being enacted by the government in 'referring the Army Chief's appointment to the Election Commission' in the continuing saga of desiccating constitutional institutions under SoniaG leadership.
EC should reject GOI request.
Kalyanaraman
Appointing Army Chief-Impaling Institutions
M.G.Devasahayam
May 5, 2014
Once again the appointment of India’s Army Chief is hogging the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This time around spin-agents would like us to believe that it is a political controversy kicked up because Army Chief is being appointed by a government that has only few days of life left and that it is being politicised. Truth is far from it as we will see.
The hogging is so much that top front page headlines is being carried in all Newspapers that government has sought the approval of the Election Commission (EC) to make the appointment and that the full commission-the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners-is slated to meet in a day or two to take the decision.
This reference and its whipping up in the media is intriguing because in the matter of appointing the new Naval Chief EC had categorically clarified to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 28 March thus: “The model code of conduct is not applicable to any matter pertaining to Defence forces, be it recruitments, promotions for Defence forces, all service matters pertaining to them...” This includes appointment of Army Chief and there was no need for the MoD to make this reference and do a song and dance on this!
Then why has it been done? Therein lays a bizarre tale that has far reaching consequences on the institutional integrity of the Armed Forces. It is the near-ordination of Lt. General Dalbir Singh Suhag, the ‘chosen one’, as the next Army Chief under the obnoxious feudal practice of 'Line of Succession'. Under this practice, a favourite of powerful business lobbies/vested interests is deep-selected well ahead and groomed for top appointments by manipulating the ‘seniority’ and timing the promotion of the ‘chosen’ one. For this purpose derelictions of duty, command failures and even corruption charges on the ‘chosen one’ are suppressed and pushed under the carpet. This is what has precisely happened in the case of Lt. General Suhag.
To start with, Defence Minister AK Antony ordered a CBI probe in 2012 against Lt.Gen Suhag in the Rs. 8 crore-parachute scam, after the Army’s own investigation established prima faciecase against him. The Suhag’s ‘benefactors’ in the establishment scuttled the CBI probe within a week. Antony took the insult lying down. Nevertheless this could come up when vigilance clearance is sought for his appointment as Army Chief. Therefore MoD pushed the file for his elevation to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) without obtaining the mandatory vigilance clearance.
MoD did this unthinkable thing because they once did it in 2012 and even succeeded in getting the blessings of the Supreme Court. To recap a bit, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court by seven ‘prominent citizens’, when the same UPA Government in May 2012 announced the appointment of Lt.Gen. Bikram Singh, against whom an alleged fake encounter case was pending in the J&K High Court seeking a Commission of Inquiry and a Court of Inquiry was going on in Meerut for his lapses as Commandant of an Indian Army contingent on peace-keeping mission in Congo which was accused of sexual exploitation of local women including 68 cases of rapes and siring of illicit children. ‘Institutional Integrity’ of the Army was at the core of this PIL.
This PIL relied on the March 3, 2011 judgment of the three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court that had struck down the appointment of PJ Thomas, an IAS officer, as Central Vigilance Commissioner, despite the fact that he had one corruption case against him saying that ‘Institutional Integrity’ is supreme. Inter alia the Court had ruled:
“The institutional integrity is the primary consideration which the High Powered Committee is required to consider while making recommendation for appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner. In the present case, this vital aspect has not been taken into account by the HPC while recommending the name of P.J. Thomas for appointment as CVC….What we are emphasizing is that institutional integrity of an institution like CVC has got to be kept in mind while recommending the name of the candidate....”
PIL had pointed out Defence Ministry’s as well a former Army Chief’s manipulations to cut short the tenure of General VK Singh and the premature announcement of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh as the next Army Chief without finally resolving the DoB issue of the former. Documents in the MS Branch proved thatSelection Boards for promotion of VK Singh to the select ranks of Brigadier (Sept 1996) Major General (25 Oct 2001 and 18/19 Sept 2003) and Lieutenant General (30 Sept 2005) reflect his DoB as 10 May 1951. PIL also elaborated the various manipulations to eliminate others from amongst Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh’s contemporaries from the race.
Obviously MoD had not obtained vigilance approval for the appointment of General Bikram Singh because it was all done in a tearing hurry as part of the conspiracy to consummate the ‘Line of Succession’. But, based on a ‘clearance report’ given by Intelligence Bureau, on 23 April 2012, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court summarily and without going through the due process dismissed the PIL, without a speaking order thereby over-turning the well reasoned and elaborate judgment of the three judge-bench in PJ Thomas case.
Strangely enough, Court of Inquiry and the pending High Court case were allowed to proceed! Even after two years the case in J&K High Court is still going on despite efforts to scuttle the same. Sworn affidavits of Raja Begum, widow of late Abdul Ahad Sheikh, Fatima Begum, widow of late Mohammed Shafi Shah and Zafoor Ahmad Ganie S/o Ali Mohammed Ganie, eye witnesses who had confirmed the fake encounter and the deaths, continue to haunt the case. Bikram Singh as Army Chief has been functioning under the twin ‘Swords of Damocles’ thereby severely compromising the ‘integrity and competence’ of the army as an Institution!
In Lt. General Suhag case the situation is far more serious because he is also involved in two severe abuse of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) when he was commanding III Corps with Assam, Nagaland and Manipur as the Areas of Responsibility. Directly under Lt. General Suhag was the Dimapur based Intelligence Unit (IU) commanded by oneColonel Govidan Shreekumar.
Abuse One came to light in July 2011 when Col. Shreekumar’s own Second-in-Command, Major Takula Ravi Kiran, wrote to the Brigadier General Staff of III Corps under Lt. General Suhag stating that on the 13th of March 2010, three Manipuri boys (Phijam Naobi and two others) had been abducted and shot dead by the IU. Despite FIR and evidence on record Suhag refused to act. Even after Major Kiran wrote again giving lucid details of the cold blooded triple-murder that took place in the unit's officers' mess Suhag ignored it and disposed it off with a one man inquiry! This has now gone before Manipur High Court in a Writ Petition filed by one Phijam Manikumar stating that his brother Phijzm Naobi, besides R K Roshan and Thounaojam Prem were abducted by the Army’s 3 Corp from Char Mile area at Dimapur in Nagaland and killed after torture on March 2010 when the present vice-chief of the Army Staff Lt General Dalbir Dingh Suhah was its General Officer Commanding
Abuse Two was dacoity committed by the same IU in December 2011. An armed party of fifteen soldiers dressed in battle fatigues under the command of Captain Rubina Kaur Keer had raided the house of one Poona Gogoi, an army contractor in Jorhat, who was away in Guwahati. But all members of the family-wife (Renu Gogoi) and three children–were manhandled and tied up. On the orders of Captain Keer soldiers forcibly took the keys of the locked cupboards and took into possession a licensed pistol with thirteen cartridges, jewelry worth Rs. 6.5 lakhs and cash adding up to 1.5 lakhs. They also took away an assortment of items that included a laptop and four mobile phones. On Poona Gogoi registering an FIR with the police station listing all the items that had been stolen, III Corps handed back the stolen pistol, most items and the cash except the jewelry and cartridges. After that Suhag told the police that the matter would be dealt with by Army authorities and that they had no further jurisdiction in the matter.
The Court of Inquiry ordered by the then Eastern Army Commander, Lt. General Bikram Singh was an eyewash and deliberately meant to protect Suhag as would be evident from the fact that it was headed only by a Brigadier rank officer. This was premeditated because being directly responsible for the IU, Suhag should have been the first person to answer for its illegal actions. The CoI was obviously orchestrated which is evident from the fact that despite clinching FIR and evidence the accused could get away on some technical ground or the other.
Despite this shielding, former COAS General V.K. Singh, besides directing stringent action against the culprits, issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) on 19-05-2012 to Lt. General Suhag and simultaneously placed him under a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) Ban. The SCN brought out lapses noticed by the then COAS for not handling a Unit placed under the Corps Commander’s direct command in a professional and appropriate manner and also for not following up on certain other complaints sent earlier through HQ Eastern Command.
Instead of acting upon the DV Ban and much against Rules, MoD appointed Suhag in the acting rank of Army Commander w.e.f. 01.06.2012 even before he replied to the SCN and its detailed processing on merit. What is worse, as soon as he took over as Army Chief, General Bikram Singh got the DV Ban on Suhag lifted in an illegal manner only to make him a regular Army Commander against the vacancy kept unfilled for over15 days. However Court of Inquiry on its part led to Court Martial which indicted all the accused thereby fully justifying the DV Ban imposed on Suhag by General VK Singh.
Despite the harrowing facts narrated above, MoD went ahead with the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag as the next Chief of the Army Staff obviously due to extraneous considerations. The drum-beaters applauded the move saying that this issue is being unnecessarily politicised and Suhag is the senior most. But this seniority has been challenged by Lt. General Dastane in the Supreme Court in a Civil Appeal. If the SC rules in his favour, it is he who will be the next Army Chief and not Lt. General Ashok Singh, a relative of General VK Singh, as is being falsely made out.
Being used to committing perjury in a routine manner MoD and PMO are already lying through their teeth in the Suhag matter and indulging in manipulation and terror tactics. Lt Gen Ravi Dastane's Civil Appeal hearing in Supreme Court was curiously shifted from 2 May to September to render his case meaningless. Though Jorhat dacoity petition is pending in the Guwahati High Court, MoD is brushing it aside as being a case of a junior NCO stealing a cell phone. Major T Kiran, the whistleblower in the triple-murder case, is being coerced to retract his complaint! What a way to make the ‘chosen one’ as Army Chief?
When all this skullduggery and gross violation of rules and regulations are in full swing MoD has moved the matter in the EC saying they want to “strictly follow all procedures before taking any final decision on the issue.” Pure hogwash!
This move could be for two sinister reasons. Grapevine has it that faced with strong opposition to the appointment backed up with documentary evidence, PMO has sent back the file to MoD directing it to seek prior vigilance clearance before putting it up to ACC for decision. This is not likely to happen in the near future. Therefore MoD is using EC as the ‘fall-guy’ to escape with least damage. Some cynics however suggest that all the Commissioners being appointees of this government, EC may be arm-twisted to give the approval which then could be trumpeted as justification for making this heavily tainted appointment.
Either way it is impaling the integrity of both the institutions-Indian Army and Election Commission. Having specialized in the ravaging and decimation of institutions of governance, one would not be surprised if UPA II goes for this vicious parting kick. Indeed, unfortunate!