New Delhi: Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, who
retired as Military Secretary on Sunday, is likely to be
attached to an Army Command`s headquarters soon for court
martial proceedings in the Sukna land scam, even as there were
reports that he suffered partial hearing impairment in service
for which he would take home 20 per cent more pension.
Incidentally, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor too
suffered partial hearing impairment on his left ear after a
visit to the US and attending a fire power demonstration by
artillery guns in July last, but wrote to Defence Minister A K
Antony against the 20 per cent additional pension after media
reports in this regard.
Army sources said here that the attachment would happen
soon, though summary of evidence and the court martial
thereafter would take another couple of months to commence.
Gen Kapoor had ordered disciplinary action leading to a
court martial against Prakash for influencing the No Objection
Certificate to a private realtor, who falsely claimed that he
would start an educational institution affiliated to the
Ajmer-based Mayo College, to buy a 71-acre land adjacent to
Sukna military station.
The order came after Antony overturned Kapoor`s decision
to initiate administrative action against Prakash and advised
him to take disciplinary action.
Prakash is a close aide of the Army Chief on account of
being the Principal Staff Officer in charge of postings,
promotions and transfers.
Army sources said three weeks before Kapoor himself was
certified as partially disabled due to hearing problems,
Prakash too was classified under partially disabled personnel
and would be entitled to the 20 per cent hike in his pension.
The then Military Secretary too was placed in the `H2`
low hearing medical category. Army officers are expected to be
in SHAPE1 (meaning top grade in psychological, hearing,
appendages, physical and eyes) fitness levels.
The medical certificate proclaiming Prakash as disabled
was prepared on October 1 last year at the Base Hospital in
the capital. Kapoor`s was prepared on November 23.
Prakash reportedly told the doctors that he suffered
hearing loss due to exposure to "loud noise in repeated field
firing/gun firing and regular travel by helicopter, specially
during my tenure" as 17 Mountain Division Commander and as
IMTRAT Commandant at the Indian Army detachment in Bhutan.
For his hearing loss, the doctors recommended that
Prakash was "fit for release in medical category S1H2A1P1E1",
which meant he had a low medical category in Hearing, whereas
he is in top fitness in the rest of the categories such as
eye sight, physique, stamina and such.
However, the medical board that reviews Prakash`s hearing
loss felt that it was "not attributable" to service, but was
"aggravated by service" from January 2008 for which it awarded
20 per cent disability pension for life.
PTI
