There is a 'cover-up' in Sukna land scam case: Army

The Army said there was a "cover up" in the Sukna land scam case in Darjeeling in which three Lt Generals and a Major General are in the dock and it needs to go to the "bottom" of the issue.

The Army on Monday said there was a "cover up" in the Sukna land scam case in Darjeeling in which three Lt Generals and a Major General are in the dock and it needs to go to the "bottom" of the issue.

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This was stated by Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising while representing the Army in the Armed Forces Tribunal which has been moved by former Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash against his Court Martial in connection with the case.

Prakash has questioned the Army's decision to order disciplinary action, which entails court martial, against him after deciding to take administrative action which does not necessarily lead to court martial.

Justifying the Army's action, Jaising told the two-member Tribunal headed by Justice A K Mathur that the administrative action was never started and the Army was within its right to initiate disciplinary action against him.

"There is a cover-up going on and we have to find out who is at the bottom of this," she said about the land scam case in which Prakash and three other Generals have been indicted by a Court of Inquiry for giving a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to a private realtor to construct an educational institute on a plot of land adjacent to Sukna army base in Darjeeling.

The Tribunal, which heard both the petitioner and the defendents for three days, reserved the order.