Chandigarh, March 19: The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has set aside a “Severe Displeasure” award given to a Lieutenant Colonel accused of an extramarital affair and plural marriage. The tribunal, comprising Justice Sudhir Mittal and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, stated in its March 18 order that disciplinary action cannot be sustained when based on an incomplete Court of Inquiry (COI) where the complainant failed to depose.
The case originated from a 2013 meeting between the infantry officer and a woman during official train travel. While the woman later claimed they were married and filed an FIR in 2015 alleging rape and bigamy, the police subsequently filed a cancellation report which was accepted by the court in 2020. Despite six summons, the complainant never appeared before the military’s COI for cross-examination, leading the AFT to declare the interim findings of that inquiry illegal.
The Bench maintained that the proceedings were perverse and violated the principles of natural justice. It noted that the Corps Commander appeared biased, having reached a conclusion of guilt before even issuing a show-cause notice to the officer. The tribunal asserted that relying on the deposition of only one witness, while others provided no evidence against the applicant, rendered the punishment unsustainable.
Consequent to the ruling, the AFT ordered that the punishment be wiped from the officer’s service record. The tribunal declared that the Lieutenant Colonel is entitled to all service benefits as if the disciplinary action had never occurred. “An incomplete court of inquiry cannot be relied upon for taking action against the delinquent individual,” the Bench affirmed, while also quashing a 2022 order by the Central Government that had upheld the initial penalty.
