Army chief orders court martial against Lt Gen Prakash

New Delhi, Jan 29 (ANI): Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Friday ordered for court martial against former Military Secretary Lt. General Avadhesh Prakash, who was indicted by the Court of Inquiry (CoI) investigating the Sukhna land scam.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister A K Antony advised General Kapoor to initiate disciplinary action against Lt General Prakash, as against the Army chief's recommendation to initiate administrative action against his former aide.

The procedure of the court martial is expected to go on for at least six months.

This is first time in the history of the India armed forces that a Military Secretary is facing the court martial.

The CoI report accused Lt. General Prakash of misusing his office.

Lt General Prakash was one of the top eight Principal Staff Officers at the Army headquarters.

Along with Lt General Prakash, the CoI had indicted Lt General P K Rath for their role in issuing a no objection certificate to a private firm, which falsely claimed to establish an affiliate of the famous Ajmer-based Mayo College on land adjacent to the Sukhna military station in Darjeeling.

On January 27, Lt General Prakash was removed from the post of Military Secretary. (ANI)