09-15-2008, 11:15 PM
Nareshji & Mudiji,
I share fully your concern for maintaining of discipline in the Armed Forces of the Union.However, just go through the facts of the case:-
Quote
Major gen to be fired for sexual assault
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Major General A K Lal, removed as commander of the strategicallylocated 3 Infantry Division at Leh in September 2007 after a woman officer accused him of âmisconductâ and âmisbehaviourâ, is likely to be dismissed from service soon.
This comes after the general court martial (GCM) against Major General Lal held him guilty of molesting the woman officer serving under him on the pretext of teaching her yoga and meditation in his bedroom and attempting to influence two witnesses in the case.
The sentence of dismissal by the GCM, headed by Lieutenant-Gen R S Sujlana, commander of the 10 Corps at Bhatinda, is however subject to confirmation by higher authorities, including Army chief General Deepak Kapoor.
Though general-rank officers have been court-martialled for financial bungling and other scams in the Army
in recent years, this is the first time that such a senior officer has faced a court martial for sexual harassment, as reported earlier by TOI.
Major General Lal, a mechanised infantry officer, has denied the allegations. His wife and daughter, too, had staunchly defended him earlier, accusing the woman officer of âimproper behaviourâ.
Major General Lal has the option of appealing against the verdict to higher authorities in the Army as well as seeking legal redress from the newly-established Armed Forces Tribunal. He, in fact, can fight the case right up to the Supreme Court.
The GCM against Major General Lal had begun last year after the court of inquiry (CoI), headed by 15 Corps commander Lieutenant-General A S Sekhon, had found him prima facie guilty of the charges levelled against him.
The case is yet another indicator of the fact that sexual harassment is now increasingly being reported in the predominantly-male environs of the armed forces, with over 15 such cases being recorded since January 2004.
Despite being inducted into the armed forces since the early-1990s, women constitute barely 2.5% to 7% of the officer cadre, serving in wings like engineering, ordnance, intelligence, signals, education, law, logistics and air traffic control. In IAF, they also fly helicopters and transport aircraft.
Overall, there are just about 1,100 women officers in Army out of a total of 35,377; 750 women out of 10,760 officers in IAF and 300 women out of 7,394 officers in Navy. Personnel below the officer rank comprise only men.
Unquote
On a close reading of the news item it will be observed that the incident occurred in the bedroom of the Divisional Commanderâs residence. This brings into question what had been the motive of the lady officer. It can perhaps be a trap to fix her Divisional Commander for some displeasure that he may have incurred of the lady in discharge of his official duties. This aspect needs to be probed further. You will agree that in the normal course of social interaction a Lady Junior Officer will not land up in the bed room of the GOC of a Division.This may perhaps be another case of misuse of the new legislation on the subject.
I share fully your concern for maintaining of discipline in the Armed Forces of the Union.However, just go through the facts of the case:-
Quote
Major gen to be fired for sexual assault
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Major General A K Lal, removed as commander of the strategicallylocated 3 Infantry Division at Leh in September 2007 after a woman officer accused him of âmisconductâ and âmisbehaviourâ, is likely to be dismissed from service soon.
This comes after the general court martial (GCM) against Major General Lal held him guilty of molesting the woman officer serving under him on the pretext of teaching her yoga and meditation in his bedroom and attempting to influence two witnesses in the case.
The sentence of dismissal by the GCM, headed by Lieutenant-Gen R S Sujlana, commander of the 10 Corps at Bhatinda, is however subject to confirmation by higher authorities, including Army chief General Deepak Kapoor.
Though general-rank officers have been court-martialled for financial bungling and other scams in the Army
in recent years, this is the first time that such a senior officer has faced a court martial for sexual harassment, as reported earlier by TOI.
Major General Lal, a mechanised infantry officer, has denied the allegations. His wife and daughter, too, had staunchly defended him earlier, accusing the woman officer of âimproper behaviourâ.
Major General Lal has the option of appealing against the verdict to higher authorities in the Army as well as seeking legal redress from the newly-established Armed Forces Tribunal. He, in fact, can fight the case right up to the Supreme Court.
The GCM against Major General Lal had begun last year after the court of inquiry (CoI), headed by 15 Corps commander Lieutenant-General A S Sekhon, had found him prima facie guilty of the charges levelled against him.
The case is yet another indicator of the fact that sexual harassment is now increasingly being reported in the predominantly-male environs of the armed forces, with over 15 such cases being recorded since January 2004.
Despite being inducted into the armed forces since the early-1990s, women constitute barely 2.5% to 7% of the officer cadre, serving in wings like engineering, ordnance, intelligence, signals, education, law, logistics and air traffic control. In IAF, they also fly helicopters and transport aircraft.
Overall, there are just about 1,100 women officers in Army out of a total of 35,377; 750 women out of 10,760 officers in IAF and 300 women out of 7,394 officers in Navy. Personnel below the officer rank comprise only men.
Unquote
On a close reading of the news item it will be observed that the incident occurred in the bedroom of the Divisional Commanderâs residence. This brings into question what had been the motive of the lady officer. It can perhaps be a trap to fix her Divisional Commander for some displeasure that he may have incurred of the lady in discharge of his official duties. This aspect needs to be probed further. You will agree that in the normal course of social interaction a Lady Junior Officer will not land up in the bed room of the GOC of a Division.This may perhaps be another case of misuse of the new legislation on the subject.