Discipline hallmark of Armed Forces, says SC; upholds dismissal of driver who overstayed leave

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 30

Noting that discipline is a hallmark of the Armed Forces and a non-negotiable condition of service, the Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of an Army driver who overstayed the leave granted to him.

“Such gross indiscipline on the part of the appellant, who was a member of the Armed Forces, could not be countenanced. He remained out of line far too often for seeking condonation of his absence of leave, this time, for a prolonged period of 108 days which, if accepted, would have sent a wrong signal to others in service,” a Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Rajesh Bindal said.

“One must be mindful of the fact that discipline is the implicit hallmark of the Armed Forces and a non-negotiable condition of service,” it said, adding he didn’t deserve leniency as he was a habitual offender.

The top court dismissed ex-sepoy Madan Prasad’s appeal against the February 16, 2015 order of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Lucknow upholding his dismissal for overstaying the leave granted to him without sufficient reasons.

“We do not find any infirmity in the impugned judgment passed by the AFT. The appellant had been taking too many liberties during his service and despite several punishments awarded to him earlier, ranging from imposition of fine to rigorous imprisonment, he did not mend his ways. This was his sixth infraction for the very same offence. Therefore, he did not deserve any leniency by infliction of a punishment lesser than that which has been awarded to him,” it said.

Prasad – who got enrolled in the Army Service Corps as a mechanical transport driver on January 4, 1983 -- was initially granted leave for 39 days from November 8 to December 16 in 1998. His request for extension of the leave on compassionate grounds was allowed by the Army authorities and he was granted a 30-day advance annual leave for the year 1999 from December 17, 1998, to January 15, 1999. Despite the extension, he failed to re-join duty and overstayed the leave, contending that he was busy with his ailing wife’s treatment.

On February 15, 1999, a Court of Inquiry was conducted under Section 106 of the Army Act to investigate the circumstances under which the appellant had overstayed his leave.

The court opined that he be declared a deserter with effect from January 16, 1999. The Summary Court Martial found him guilty and dismissed him from service. Ittook note of the fact that Prasad didn’t produce any document on record by way of the treatment summary or medical certificate of his wife to demonstrate that she was seriously ill, requiring his presence.

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