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Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 13
Almost two decades after a colonel was dismissed by a Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) on corruption charge, he has been granted compassionate allowance with the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) observing that orders passed by the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare (DESW) to deny him the allowance were without jurisdiction and possibly done with malicious intent.
The petitioner was dismissed from service in February 1999 for criminal breach of trust in respect to government property, intent to defraud and committing an act prejudicial to good order and military discipline.
After two petitions to Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence seeking grant of pensionary benefits in 2001 remained unanswered, another petition submitted to the Chief of Army Staff was rejected in 2013 on the grounds that since the charges against him were serious and involved moral turpitude, the order of punishment could not be interfered with.
Thereafter, he made various representations for compassionate allowance, but without success. In 2016, he was informed that his petition sent to the Army HQ in 2015 was examined by the competent authority in the MoD and the same has not been accepted. In 2016, he was able to obtain copies of office notings that shed fresh light on the case and after his renewed demands were rejected, he approached the AFT.
The AFT’s Chandigarh Bench comprising Justice MA Chauhan and Vice Admiral AG Thapliyal observed that following advice from the Judge Advocate General, the Adjutant General at the Army HQ, the only competent authority to take a decision on such matters, had approved grant of 50 per cent pensionary benefits. “The consultant had no jurisdiction and authority to undo what was down by the Adjutant General.”
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