Colonel Youdhvir Singh moves tribunal, says sexual abuse case a trap

In his petition, in which the Director General NCC has also been implicated as a respondent, the petitioner has said that Colonel Mukul Dev had been raising issues regarding corrupt practices being followed in the NCC headquarters regarding procurement of various items and that no investigations were carried out at HQ DG NCC.

Alleging that there was a tug-of-war between civilian officers of the NCC headquarters and Army officers, Colonel Youdhvir has stated in his petition that one of the civilian officers who was involved in unsavoury turf battles and who played a role in setting up the trap has been made the head of the inquiry in his case. Misuse of government transport by the civilian officers, including the inquiry panel head, for commutation from residence to the office, and drawing privileges of an higher grade than what was authorised by her has also been alleged in the petition.

Alleging that he had been made a scapegoat, Colonel Youdhvir has levelled serious allegations in his petition about corrupt activities being covered up in NCC Headquarters in New Delhi on the best of senior officers. He also mentions that there was an intelligence feedback which informed the DG NCC that the petitioner has been implicated in a trap due to mistaken identity. He denies having misbehaved with a female staff of the headquarters and said that had had been mistook for Colonel Mukul Dev.

The Colonel has said in his petition that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 categorically provides that the investigations into the complaint is required to be made in accordance with the service rules applicable and as the applicant belongs to the Army, investigations are required to be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Army Act and Rules wherein no civilian can be member of such inquiry constituted under the provisions of Army Act and Rules.

He states that even though the Army Headquarters has pointed out that no civilian can be a member of an inquiry panel in case of an Army officer, the NCC Headquarters has persisted in flouting the advice by getting a ‘tailor made’ legal advice.