Defamation plea: Order against Army chief on May 5 | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Defamation plea: Order against Army chief on May 5

PTI | By, New Delhi
Apr 26, 2012 07:39 PM IST

A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its order for May 5 on summoning Army chief Gen VK Singh and four others, named as accused in a criminal defamation case filed by former Lt Gen Tejinder Singh.

A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its order for May 5 on summoning Army chief Gen VK Singh and four others, named as accused in a criminal defamation case filed by former Lt Gen Tejinder Singh.

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While deferring his order by nine days, metropolitan magistrate Sudesh Kumar, asked Tejinder Singh's counsel to explain the specific roles of the Army chief and the four other officers in the defamation case.

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"Put up for order on May 5," said MM Kumar, who was scheduled to pronounce the order on Tejinder Singh's plea on Thursday.

On court's query, Tejinder Singh's counsel Anil Aggarwal said all the accused had conspired together to defame his client and for this, they "illegally" issued the press release indicating him.

As the court initially reserved its order for May 11, the counsel raised objection after which the magistrate advanced it to May 5.

Tejinder Singh, a former director general of Defence Intelligence Agency, had filed defamation complaint against the Army chief and four other Army officials trashing the allegations that he had offered a bribe to the Army chief for clearing a deal for 600 "sub-standard" vehicles.

Besides the Army chief, he has named vice chief of Army Staff SK Singh, Lt Gen BS Thakur (DG MI), Major General SL Narshiman (Additional Director General of Public Information)and Lt Col Hitten Sawhney posted in the media cell, accusing them of misusing their official positions, power and authority to level false charges against him.

Tejinder Singh had earlier recorded his pre-summoning evidence in support of his complaint and had denied having made Rs 14 crore bribe offer to the Army Chief to strike a defence deal.

During the last hearing, he had said the allegation that he offered bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Ltd, which supplies vehicles to BEML was absolutely "false, ill-founded and concocted."

Tejinder Singh had told the court that between March 3 and 5 this year, a number of media reports alluded to the Army chief having allegedly ordered "unlawful monitoring" of mobiles, particularly in the South Block area here.

In order to divert the public attention from this news, which pointed fingers at senior functionaries in the Army Headquarters, including Gen VK Singh, the media cell of the Army Headquarters issued a press release on March 5, he had said, adding he was named in the press release without any proper legal sanction.

The Army chief had in response to the legal notice by Tejinder Singh told him that he was ready to substantiate the allegations in the court.

Tejinder Singh had said the press release, taking his name, laid four allegations against him which were "false".

He had said the allegation that he was questioned earlier on the purchase of off-the-air monitoring system without sanction by the competent authority was also false.

Regarding the allegation that he was an allottee in the Mumbai's Adarsh housing society, Tejinder Singh had said that he was a "bonafide allottee" and no case exists against him.

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