<div align="justify">A Defence Ministry inquiry committee has suggested prohibiting top Army officers indicted in the Adarsh housing society scam from all future government appointment taking a cue from the Antrix-Devas case.<br /><br />Those found guilty by the panel include two former Army Chiefs Gen N C Vij and Gen Deepak Kapoor and former Vice Chief Lt Gen Shantanu Choudhary.<br /><br />Several senior officers like Lt Gen G S Sihota, Maj Gen A R Kumar, Maj Gen Tejinder Singh and Maj Gen T K Kaul are among the top officers, who were indicted by the panel, set up by the defence ministry at the instruction of the Bombay High Court, which is hearing the case.<br /><br />“Attention in the Adarsh scam so far has been centred on the wrong-doing and irregularities by the politicians and bureaucrats concerned with the approval process, who exploited their positions to become beneficiaries of Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS), ostensibly promoted for the welfare of Kargil heros [sic] and war widows. As we have found, perhaps as great a role was played by the military and Defence Estate officers involved,” said the 199-page report.<br /><br />The report, authored by retired bureaucrat Rajan Katoch and Lt Gen Ravi Thodge (retd), didn't mince words for the top brass of the armed forces involved in the scam.<br /><br />"The conduct of the officers in this case for personal benefit at the expense of public interest cannot be allowed to rest without action. In public perception, the Services have always been held in very high esteem. This perception was impacted by this case,” it said.<br /><br />While Gen Vij appears to have provided a “protective umbrella”; Lt Gen Choudhary is a “leading defender of ACHS” in the courts now. Gen Kapoor's membership of the ACHS conveys a sense of discouragement to “those who may have wanted to safeguard army’s interests and speak out against the wrongdoing”.<br /><br />“Huge damage to the image and credibility of the Services was caused due to the actions of a few officers who for their vested interests, abdicated their responsibilities to safeguard the public interest and security of the country,” the report said recommending actions against them.<br /><br />“The government can consider the option of taking action for debarring some or all of these officers from any future employment or contract with the Central Government or any of its bodies or participating in any Committees. Such an action was taken by the Department of Space in 2012 in the case of a former Secretary, Department of Space in the Antrix Devas case,” it said<br /><br />The Central Bureau of Investigation filed its charge sheet on the scam in 2012 against about 50 accused including at least six Army officers. The trial is yet to begin.<div align="justify"><br />About Gen Kapoor, the report said though he was not directly connected with the case, he was not "well advised" in accepting a membership of the society, adding that that it did not seem he had adequately weighed the implications of accepting a flat in the complex.<br /><br />The Indian Navy had raised security concerns as the 31 storey building overlooked several of its key installations. The housing complex, built on defence land, was originally for Kargil war heroes and those who had lost their spouses in the war.<br /><br />The defence ministry probe found a number of other senior military officials guilty and said all those found involved in the scam or those who had turned a blind eye to the irregularities should not be engaged in any employment or services by the government.<br /><br />The Bombay high court, in an order last year, blamed members of the housing society, who it said happened to be close relatives of highly-placed bureaucrats or related to politicians or ministers, for conspiring with them to grab a plot.<br /><br />Former navy chief admiral Madhavendra Singh, who was also allotted a flat in the housing society, has also been named in the report.</div><div align="justify"><br />The report said though he was not involved in the scam, he was ineligible to become a member of the housing society as he gave a misleading undertaking stating that he did not own any house in Mumbai.<br /><br />According to the findings, almost all the military officials found guilty in the scam were given flats in the complex.<br /><br />Then Defence minister A K Antony had on December 9, 2010, ordered a CBI probe to fix responsibility among armed forces and defence estates officers in the scam.<br /><br />The probe agency was also asked to look into commitments made for allotment of flats in the society for Kargil widows and martyrs' families.<br /><br />The preliminary findings of the ministry's probe brought out a "criminal conspiracy" at the local level in the Army and defence estates to give up the land, which was in the Army's possession till 1999-2000, in favour of the housing society.</div></div>
<div align="justify">A Defence Ministry inquiry committee has suggested prohibiting top Army officers indicted in the Adarsh housing society scam from all future government appointment taking a cue from the Antrix-Devas case.<br /><br />Those found guilty by the panel include two former Army Chiefs Gen N C Vij and Gen Deepak Kapoor and former Vice Chief Lt Gen Shantanu Choudhary.<br /><br />Several senior officers like Lt Gen G S Sihota, Maj Gen A R Kumar, Maj Gen Tejinder Singh and Maj Gen T K Kaul are among the top officers, who were indicted by the panel, set up by the defence ministry at the instruction of the Bombay High Court, which is hearing the case.<br /><br />“Attention in the Adarsh scam so far has been centred on the wrong-doing and irregularities by the politicians and bureaucrats concerned with the approval process, who exploited their positions to become beneficiaries of Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS), ostensibly promoted for the welfare of Kargil heros [sic] and war widows. As we have found, perhaps as great a role was played by the military and Defence Estate officers involved,” said the 199-page report.<br /><br />The report, authored by retired bureaucrat Rajan Katoch and Lt Gen Ravi Thodge (retd), didn't mince words for the top brass of the armed forces involved in the scam.<br /><br />"The conduct of the officers in this case for personal benefit at the expense of public interest cannot be allowed to rest without action. In public perception, the Services have always been held in very high esteem. This perception was impacted by this case,” it said.<br /><br />While Gen Vij appears to have provided a “protective umbrella”; Lt Gen Choudhary is a “leading defender of ACHS” in the courts now. Gen Kapoor's membership of the ACHS conveys a sense of discouragement to “those who may have wanted to safeguard army’s interests and speak out against the wrongdoing”.<br /><br />“Huge damage to the image and credibility of the Services was caused due to the actions of a few officers who for their vested interests, abdicated their responsibilities to safeguard the public interest and security of the country,” the report said recommending actions against them.<br /><br />“The government can consider the option of taking action for debarring some or all of these officers from any future employment or contract with the Central Government or any of its bodies or participating in any Committees. Such an action was taken by the Department of Space in 2012 in the case of a former Secretary, Department of Space in the Antrix Devas case,” it said<br /><br />The Central Bureau of Investigation filed its charge sheet on the scam in 2012 against about 50 accused including at least six Army officers. The trial is yet to begin.<div align="justify"><br />About Gen Kapoor, the report said though he was not directly connected with the case, he was not "well advised" in accepting a membership of the society, adding that that it did not seem he had adequately weighed the implications of accepting a flat in the complex.<br /><br />The Indian Navy had raised security concerns as the 31 storey building overlooked several of its key installations. The housing complex, built on defence land, was originally for Kargil war heroes and those who had lost their spouses in the war.<br /><br />The defence ministry probe found a number of other senior military officials guilty and said all those found involved in the scam or those who had turned a blind eye to the irregularities should not be engaged in any employment or services by the government.<br /><br />The Bombay high court, in an order last year, blamed members of the housing society, who it said happened to be close relatives of highly-placed bureaucrats or related to politicians or ministers, for conspiring with them to grab a plot.<br /><br />Former navy chief admiral Madhavendra Singh, who was also allotted a flat in the housing society, has also been named in the report.</div><div align="justify"><br />The report said though he was not involved in the scam, he was ineligible to become a member of the housing society as he gave a misleading undertaking stating that he did not own any house in Mumbai.<br /><br />According to the findings, almost all the military officials found guilty in the scam were given flats in the complex.<br /><br />Then Defence minister A K Antony had on December 9, 2010, ordered a CBI probe to fix responsibility among armed forces and defence estates officers in the scam.<br /><br />The probe agency was also asked to look into commitments made for allotment of flats in the society for Kargil widows and martyrs' families.<br /><br />The preliminary findings of the ministry's probe brought out a "criminal conspiracy" at the local level in the Army and defence estates to give up the land, which was in the Army's possession till 1999-2000, in favour of the housing society.</div></div>
