Major General gets AFT notice for non-appearance despite order

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has issued a showcause notice to a Major General serving as an Additional Director General (ADG), Personnel Services, to explain as to why an order of confinement to civil prison be not passed keeping in view his conduct of persistent wilful defiance of its orders.

The AFT’s Chandigarh bench observed that despite directions to the officer to file an updated case status and be present in person, he had chosen to defy the order. Despite the said order, no reply to the showcause notice issued under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 has been filed nor the officer was present in person.

“The subordinate officer, who appeared in place of the ADG PS through videoconferencing, has submitted that the said officer could not be present in person as he had some urgent commitment. Despite asking him a number of times, the officer refused to reveal the nature of the commitment, claiming he is not aware. We have no hesitation in recording that the OIC, Legal Cell, had come to my (retired Justice Sudhir Mittal) chambers yesterday at about 13.45 hours to request that the ADG PS be exempted from personal appearance and that he would appear through videoconferencing as he had some pressing personal commitment. That the reason for his absence today is not an official commitment but a personal requirement is evident from the fact that his subordinate officer was not disclosing the same despite having been asked a number of times,” observed the AFT bench headed by Justice Sudhir Mittal and Air Marshal Manavendra Singh.

“...the only option left with this court is to punish him,” said the order. The AFT observed that the officer was not present during videoconferencing as well.

In the past, both the Punjab and Haryana high court and the Supreme Court have passed scathing observations against the defence ministry and the army authorities for flooding the courts with writ petitions and appeals against orders passed by the AFT in favour of disabled soldiers which are already covered by existing judgments.

Ex-servicemen organisations have also condemned the tendency of the defence ministry of dragging disability pensioners, old pensioners and widows till the Supreme Court in all judgments passed in their favour. The matter is fixed for next hearing on September 4.

The case

In February this year, the ADG was directed to file an affidavit intimating the latest case status on a matter pending before the AFT. The matter was adjourned to August 8, but the affidavit was not filed, prompting the AFT to issue a notice for contempt of court and directing the officer to be personally present in court.

On August 30, the AFT observed that despite the said order, no reply to the show cause notice issued had been filed nor was the ADG present in court, even though a request on his behalf from another officer seeking exemption had been denied.