For extramarital affair with wife of subordinate, AFT upholds dismissal of IAF officer

New Delhi, Sep 19: The principal bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal has upheld the dismissal of a Group Captain of the Indian Airforce for having an extramarital affair with the wife of a subordinate.

Rejecting a plea by the ex-Group Captain, K J Pandey, the AFT said that the records amply indicate that the petitioner had an inappropriate relationship with the wife of an officer who was working under him in his unit.

Such a relationship in the Armed Forces is taboo and against the ethos and norms of the sacred principles of camaraderie and soldiering, the Bench said.

The case dates back to 2012, when the officer in question was posted as a Commanding officer of the 29 Equipment Depot, IAF, Kanpur. He is said to have had an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his subordinates there. He was subsequently posted to the AIR HQs, New Delhi in 2012, but returned to Kanpur.

On April 14 2012, a scuffle broke out between him and the subordinate officer. A court of inquiry was ordered, which held him guilty. The officer then filed a petition in the AFT in which he stated that the Court of Inquiry against him progressed with a per-conceived mind and did not follow the procedures laid down under the regulations of the Air Force. He also said that the evidence of the most crucial witness, the complainant and his wife was not recorded on video as was done in the case of the other witnesses.