SC upholds imprisonment of army officer

“The armed forces are known for their integrity and reputation. The senior officers of the Armed Forces are expected to be men of integrity and character. When any such

charge is proved against a senior officer,the reputation of the Army also gets affected.

“Therefore,any officer indulging into such acts could no longer be retained in the services of the Army,and the order passed by the General Court Martial could not be faulted,” the Bench said.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by the Centre challenging Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order which had set aside the court martial against the officer.

In this case Singh was court martialed and dismissed from job and was sentenced to one year imprisonment after it was proved that he had submitted fictitious documents and pre-receipted bills to withdraw the amount which his regiment was not authorised to do.

After conducting inquiry it was found that no such items were purchased,but fictitious documents and bills were procured and although the cheques showed the names of some vendors,but the amount was withdrawn by Singh himself.

The Supreme Court,after hearing the arguments of the Centre and Singh,set aside the order of the High Court.