Court admits defamation case against Army Chief

New Delhi: A Delhi court today took cognizance of a defamation case filed by Lieutenant General (Retired) Tejinder Singh against Army Chief, General VK Singh and four others. Tejinder Singh's lawyer Anil Agarwal later told reporters, "The court has taken cognizance of the complaint and they will take action after VK Singh's statement on April 10."

Tejinder Singh has accused his former colleagues of issuing a press release earlier this month that alleged he was involved in spreading stories to the news media about mobile phones of top Defence Ministry officials being intercepted by the Army.

In his defamation suit filed in a Magistrate's court, Tejinder Singh asked the court to summon and initiate proceedings against General Singh for making the "libellous" statement against him in the media.

In his complaint, the retired Lieutenant General has also named S K Singh (Vice-Chief of Army staff), lieutenant General B S Thakur (D G MI), Major General S L Narshiman (Additional Director General of Public Information) and Lieutenant Colonel Hitten Sawhney, accusing them of misusing their official position, power and authority to level false charges against him.

The Prime Minister yesterday met with senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony and P Chidambaram to discuss the twin controversies that have emerged from the Army Chief's office. Crisis One is based on General V K Singh's disclosure that he was offered a 14-crore bribe in 2010 to clear "sub-standard" trucks for use by the Army. Crisis Two lies in the leak of a confidential letter written by the General to the PM where he warns that India's security is at risk because defence equipment is obsolete. Both issues have led to the Opposition demanding an explanation from the government. (Read: Some leaders ask for Army chief's removal - 10 big facts)

The details of the Army's weaknesses and its chasm with the government are now part of the imagery on display for Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is in Delhi for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit that begins today. The revelation about the bribe that was offered to him has led to an immediate escalation of hostilities between General Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony. The Defence Minister said in Parliament that the Army chief had told him that a retired officer, Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh, had visited him in 2010 and offered him a kickback. The minister said he asked the Army chief to take action, but General Singh said he did not want to pursue the matter. (Read: Rs. 14 crore bribe offered to Army chief recorded on tape: Sources)

Tejinder Singh says that though he visited the Army chief in September 2010, he did not offer him any money. He says he asked the Army chief to consider making him the chief of the NTRO or National Technical Research Organisation, a highly specialised technical intelligence gathering agency. General Singh's supporters point out he did not sanction that appointment.

Tejinder Singh was accused by the Army earlier this month of offering bribers on behalf of Tatra and Vetra which supply the Army with trucks used to transport artillery and troops. The General has described the trucks as "sub-standard" in an interview this week.

Documents with NDTV show that Tatra trucks are over-priced- they cost 40-50 lakhs in Europe but 7000 of them were bought by the army at double that price. The trucks were sold via a defence public sector unit, BEML. Several analysts say that they have performed poorly. (Read: RTI document on Army's purchase of over-priced trucks)

A CBI inquiry was ordered by the Defence Minister after General Singh's bribery allegations. The CBI investigation will swing into operation after General Singh provides a written account of what happened. General Singh will meet most likely with the CBI tomorrow to discuss the kickback.

For most of last year, the minister and the Army chief fought a long battle over General Singh's age. The government refused to accept that General Singh was born in 1951 and not 1950.  Records with the Army show both years, but the government said that documents used to establish his seniority and promotions declared 1950 as his year of birth and could not be amended. The Army chief took the unprecedented action of taking the government to court. But he dropped his petition after Supreme Court judges indicated they were unlikely to accept his arguments. (Read: Months of acrimony for Army Chief and the government)