The Centre has moved the Delhi High Court against an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to disclose the pre-trial advice given by the Army’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch in connection with a 2012 clash between soldiers of the Ladakh-based 226 Field Regiment and their superiors.
In its appeal, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the incident had taken place on May 11-12, 2012 at Leh after the soldiers heard a rumour that one of them had died after being badly beaten up by three officers for allegedly molesting an officer’s wife.
The MoD’s pleas said that around 100-odd soldiers allegedly ransacked the officers’ mess of their unit, injured several of their senior officers, misbehaved with their wives and had engaged in other incidents of unruly behaviour.
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The CIC had in January 2017 directed the MoD to provide RTI applicant, gunner Bikramjit Singh, the information regarding the advice given by JAG in the matter.
When this order was challenged by the Ministry in the High Court in May 2018, the court had refused to entertain it on ground of delay.
Mr. Singh was dismissed from service in 2015 after a Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) for his participation in the mutiny. As per the plea, he is lodged in a central jail at Hoshiarpur serving a prison term of 10 years as punishment.
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The High Court has posted the case for hearing on April 1, 2019.