Army studying tribunal order on Kargil war
By IANSTuesday, June 8, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Indian Army is analysing an order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) seeking corrections in the official records of the 1999 Kargil War because it showed “bias” against an officer before challenging it in the Supreme Court.
A well informed source told IANS that army chief Gen. V.K. Singh had a meeting with Defence Minister A.K. Antony May 29 and they discussed the possibility of moving the apex court over the issue.
“However, they decided to first study the order closely and analyse all relevant records before considering an appeal,” said a source privy to the development.
The AFT May 26 ruled that Lt. Gen. (retd) Kishan Pal, the Srinagar-based 15 Corps commander during the war, had shown bias against Brig. (retd) Devinder Singh, who was commanding the 70 Infantry Brigade.
The tribunal had asked the army to modify its records to give Singh credit for the victory in Kargil’s Batalik sector.
In its judgment, the tribunal said Pal had distorted a subordinate’s performance reports, which went into the writing of the war history.
Singh had complained that his performance during the conflict had been assessed incorrectly, which eventually cost him a war medal and a promotion to the rank of major general
Singh claimed that he was cited for award of Maha Vir Chakra, the second highest gallantry medal, but was instead given the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), a peacetime honour.
“The army is now examining the situation reports to see if a legal basis can be prepared for an appeal in the Supreme Court for quashing the tribunal’s order,” the source said.
