Justice for Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane!!
The Dastane case hinges on the alleged actions of General Bikram Singh who took over the reins of the Indian Army from General VK Singh on 1 June 2012. The outgoing Chief (VK Singh), had served a show-cause notice and imposed DV Ban on Lieutenant General Suhag based on papers put up by the JAG and Vigilance Branches of the Army that suggested inaction by 3 Corps Commander in the case against the Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Unit working directly under him who was accused of extra judicial killings and a botched up raid in Jorhat amounting to dacoity, the police having recovered most of the loot from the raiding party. Lieutenant General Suhag was seen to be shielding the main culprit against whom there are several other allegations which also include dabbling in narcotics!
by mayanks1972
Will Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane Get Justice?
Hearing of the appeal of Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane is slated on any day during week commencing 7th of July. The Supreme Court finally seems to have shaken itself out of its reluctance to deal with matters military. Its decision to hear the Ravi Dastane plea after the first week of July must be welcomed for that one step by itself counters the deliberate attempts of a cabal of babus, arms merchants and drug-peddlers hell bent on imposing on the country their own ‘line of succession’ and who have been desperately stalling for time while spreading as much disinformation on the subject as possible. First and foremost, it is vital to understand that the writ filed by Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane has NOTHING to do with General VK Singh or his prejudice towards Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh (as continues to be mischievously portrayed in media), for the former had recommended the name of the latter for promotion to Army Commander in March 2014. It actually concerns the alleged malafide intentions of the present COAS in taking what at best can be described as ‘premeditated actions’ that violate the natural justice in the case of Dastane who otherwise today would have been the Chief-designate based on the seniority principle that seems so dear to both the UPA and now the NDA Governments.
The deliberate targeting and setting aside of officers to clear the way for General Bikram Singh to be anointed COAS in 2012 is now a well documented fact. Some of the victims in the past, like General VK Singh and Major General Ravi Arora, did try and put up a legal fight but their cases were dismissed by a judiciary unwilling to look at the larger picture or were lost and made redundant through endless delays and the usual tricks of evasiveness and perjury available to the MOD when it comes to dealing with straightforward army officers. In all probability, Ravi Dastane’s name will also get added to the ‘hounded-out victims’ of the much touted ‘line of succession’ by mid-July, for Arun Jaitley, the RM has already made a suo motto statement in Parliament that the UPA Government’s decision of announcing Lieutenant General Suhag’s name as the next Chief is final even though Dastane’s case that also concerns Suhag is sub-judice in Supreme Court.
The Dastane case hinges on the alleged actions of General Bikram Singh who took over the reins of the Indian Army from General VK Singh on 1 June 2012. The outgoing Chief (VK Singh), had served a show-cause notice and imposed DV Ban on Lieutenant General Suhag based on papers put up by the JAG and Vigilance Branches of the Army that suggested inaction by 3 Corps Commander in the case against the Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Unit working directly under him who was accused of extra judicial killings and a botched up raid in Jorhat amounting to dacoity, the police having recovered most of the loot from the raiding party. Lieutenant General Suhag was seen to be shielding the main culprit against whom there are several other allegations which also include dabbling in narcotics!
Dastane’s writ clearly points out that MOD had only put up two names to the ACC for the vacancy of two Army Commanders when as per rules they were required to submit four names which would have included his own. Even after the imposition of the DV Ban that disqualified Lieutenant General Suhag from being considered, Lieutenant General Dastane’s name was not forwarded and various steps were initiated to overturn the ban and protect Suhag’s seniority. Not only did this keep Dastane out of contention for Army Commander, it ensured that come what may, Lieutenant General Suhag and not Lieutenant General Dastane would become the next Army Chief. Dastane’s plea systematically lists various other moves made by the present COAS (Bikram Singh) that allegedly amount to manipulation besides being illegal and against all established norms and rules to ensure that this did not happen. Hence the petition in the Supreme Court.
It may be news to the readers that in the case of the Date of Birth controversy of General VK Singh, the Honourable Supreme Court never ruled that the General had given a wrong date of birth but instead left the decision to the government. However, what was portrayed in the media by the arms lobby was as if General VK Singh had monoeuvred his date of birth in order to serve for an additional year. The country is already witness that though the Congress sat on an approved hike in railways and dumped it in the lap of the new government like a post dated cheque, it went out of its way to announce Suhag as the next Chief even though the present Army Chief, Bikram Singh is scheduled to retire only on 31 July 2014. It remains to be seen how unambiguous will be the judgment of the Honourable Supreme Court, whether a subsequent hearing date will be accorded beyond31 July enabling Suhag’s promotion in the interim or whether there will be a stay on his promotion till a clear ruling can be given, what way the arms lobby will play the ‘paid’ media and whether Lieutenant General Ravi Dastane will get justice at all.