Sukna land scam: Army general to be court-martialed
By IANSFriday, August 20, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Indian Army has ordered the court-of a lieutenant general rank for wrongdoing in the transfer of a 71-acre tea estate adjacent to the Sukna military station near Siliguri in West Bengal to a real estate dealer - a scandal that came to be known as the Sukna land scam.
Lt. Gen. G.K. Rath, the former commander of the 33 Corps, will face the legal action for allegedly giving a no-objection certificate (NoC) to real estate developer Dilip Agarwal for constructing an educational institute on land belonging to Indian Army.
Sources said the orders for convening of the court martial have been issued and the proceedings will begin Monday.
They said the legal proceedings - to be headed by a three-star officer - follow as the summary of evidence (SoE) recorded against Rath found grounds for continuing disciplinary proceedings against him.
A court of inquiry had indicted Rath and three other general-rank officers, including former military secretary Lt. Gen. Awadesh Praksh, Lt. Gen. Ramesh Halgali and Maj. Gen. P.K. Sen for issuing the NoC to Agarwal.
The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to give any relief to Rath, who had challenged the initiation of the court of inquiry against him in the the over Rs.300 crore land scam.
