Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh on 21 May 2012 ratified a court martial’s decision to dismiss former military secretary Lt. Gen. Avadesh Prakash from service after he was found guilty by an army court for his role in the Sukna land scam case.
The dismissal will deprive Lt. Gen. Prakash of all the benefits like pension and any privilege attached with military service.
Prakash is the senior-most officer to have been awarded this punishment by the army. The General Court Martial (GCM) had announced its decision to dismiss Lt. Gen. (retired) Prakash in December 2011. He was found guilty of abusing his position under Section 45 (conduct unbecoming of his position as an officer) and Section 52 (intent to defraud) of the Army Act by the General Court Martial at 51 sub-area of the Army station at Narengi in Guwahati.
The court martial was conducted when an Army court found Lt. Gen. Prakash guilty of misusing his post in the land scam. Prakash was accused of illegal transfer of 71 acres of land adjacent to the Sukna military station near Siliguri in West Bengal to a private realtor for constructing an educational institution in 2008.
Lt. Gen. Prakash is the third Lt Gen rank officer to have been given the punishment in a corruption-related case. Earlier Lt Gen S.K. Sahni was removed from service given his role in the ration scam and Lt Gen P.K. Rath was given a punishment for his involvement in the Sukna case. While Prakash and Sahni were punished after their retirement, Rath was in service when he was rebuked.
Sukna land scam came into public notice in 2008 when the alleged move to transfer the land in Siliguri to a private educational trust came out in the open. Following the grave allegations against the top army officials the army began disciplinary proceedings against Lt. Gen. Prakash and Lt. Gen. Rath among other top officials.
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