The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the decks for the appointment of lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next Army Chief. The court did not find the disciplinary ban imposed on Suhag in 2012 as a ground to deny his ascension to the top post.
The decision came as a huge relief for the Government which had put its weight behind Suhag as the next Army chief despite the ban imposed on him by former Army Chief VK Singh, who is currently a Minister in the NDA Government. The ban was imposed for alleged failure of “command and control” in an operation conducted by an intelligence unit working under Dimapur-based 3 Corps Commander, then headed by Suhag.
The matter reached apex court when another contender for Eastern Command lieutenant General Ravi Dastane used the ban imposed on Suhag to question his appointment as Army Commander of Eastern Command. He argued that the ban disqualified Suhag from becoming Eastern Command chief, a post which subsequently served as the stepping stone for his elevation as Army Chief.
“It is a matter of vindication of your position,” the Bench of Justices TS Thakur and Adarsh Goel told Dastane’s advocate RK Anand. The Bench indicated to Dastane that he was a Corps Commander, two steps below Suhag. “You are not even an Army Commander today. As and when you succeed, your position will be considered for Army Commander. But there is no reason we should stop him (Suhag).”
The Eastern Command post fell vacant on June 1, 2012, on which day General VK Singh retired and new Army Chief General Bikram Singh took over. On taking over, Dastane’s response to the show cause notice issued to him on May 19, 2012 was considered and within a week of his taking over, the new Army chief revoked the ban and appointed Suhag as the Eastern Command chief.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for the Centre told the court that Suhag will take over as Army chief on August 1 this year while the petitioner (Dastane) is due to retire only on August 31, giving ample time for the court to consider his appeal. The petitioner had earlier lost before the Central Administrative Tribunal, which found no ground to stall Suhag’s appointment as Commander of Eastern Command.
Dastane even alleged that Suhag failed to take action against a Colonel working under Eastern Command after reports emerged of his affair with a woman. Producing photographs of the Colonel with the woman as part of his application filed in SC, the Bench wondered how this could be a ground to allege inaction against Suhag. However, the Bench described the photographs as “colourful” and allowed it to remain on record.