Avadesh Prakash to challenge court martial

Dismissed from Army for his role in the Sukna land scam, former Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash on Tuesday said he will challenge the decision of court martial and Gen VK Singh against him.

Dismissed from Army for his role in the Sukna land scam, former Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash on Tuesday said he will challenge the decision of court martial and Gen VK Singh against him.

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Prakash was ordered to be dismissed from service for his role in the Sukna land scam by a court martial in December 3 last year and the verdict was ratified by the Army Chief ten days before his scheduled retirement on May 31.

"I will go against the verdict of the General Court Martial (GCM) and Gen VK Singh's decision to ratify it. I have full faith in the Indian justice system and the judicial procedures in the country," Prakash told PTI over phone.

Asked to react on Army Chief's allegation that he was behind raking up the age row, the former Military Secretary said Gen Singh was "making all kinds of allegations against me and I don't understand why he is doing so."

Commenting on his role in the age issue involving the Army Chief, Prakash said the whole episode started in 2006 during the tenure of Lt Gen Richard Khare and after subsequent investigations, Gen Singh accepted May 10, 1950 as his date of birth.

Prakash said after he became military secretary in May 2008, Gen Singh approached him to revive the age issue and on the directions of then Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor it was conveyed to him that the case is closed.

"But he kept insisting and wrote many letters and in May 2009 he expressed his annoyance with me in a letter. Thereafter, there was no further action as far as age issue is concerned," he said.

Prakash said when the Army Chief himself filed a case in Supreme Court and statutory complaints on the issue with the Ministry, how could he blame anybody else for raking up the age issue.

On the punishment awarded to him by the GCM and its ratification by the Army Chief, he said, "After 40 yrs of service, this is what a person who is biased does to you and because he wants to be vindictive towards you."

Prakash, who has now lost his rank and all privileges attached with military service, said, "The punishment is totally in disproportion to the charges they have made but even then I am contesting those charges."