Sukna scam: Pension cut,loss of seniority for Rath

A day after he was found guilty in the Sukna land scandal,Lt Gen P K Rath was severely reprimanded by the military court.

A day after he was found guilty in the Sukna land scandal,Lt Gen P K Rath was on Saturday severely reprimanded by the military court and awarded a harsh loss of seniority as well as a pension cut. Rath,the senior-most serving officer to be found guilty by a court martial,was sentenced to forfeit 15 years service for pensionary benefits and two years of seniority.

While Rath will continue to serve in the Army he has a year to go before retirement he will be considered the junior-most amongst his peers and could face the ignominy of reporting to an officer who was earlier junior to him. Rath has the option of approaching the Armed Forces Tribunal and the Supreme Court for redressal.

As first reported by The Indian Express,Rath was set to take over as the Deputy Chief of Army in 2009 when an inquiry was ordered into the granting of no-objection certificates for a commercial venture near the 33 Corps Headquarters at Sukna that he was commanding. The inquiry subsequently alleged that he was influenced by a senior colleague then Military Secretary Avadesh Prakash into favouring the private developer.

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The military court found Rath guilty on three counts: issuing the no-objection certificate to the private realtor by reversing the Armys earlier stand that the land was crucial from the security point of view; signing an MoU with an educational institute; and not informing his superiors at the Eastern Command.

Prakash,who has retired from service,will now undergo a court martial after the verdict has been announced for Rath. Althogh he has retired,Prakash is still under the purview of the Army Act. In his case,the summary of evidence has been completed and court martial proceedings are likely to commence shortly.

The Sukna controversy came to light after the Army,in October 2009,ordered a Court of Inquiry into allegations that the developer was favoured and given clearances for construction on a 70-acre plot of land valued at Rs 300 crore that was located adjacent to the 33 Corps HQ.

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