A Delhi court today fixed July 19 for hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed by former Lt General Tejinder Singh against ex-Army chief General VK Singh and others.
The matter was to be heard today but got posted to the July date as Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mittal, who was to hear the case, was on leave.
The court had earlier on December 9 set a deadline of four months for the Centre to grant sanction for prosecution of the four army officials who are accused in the complaint along with VK Singh.
The court had directed Tejinder Singh to approach the Centre on the issue and clarified that if the government fails to decide on the issue of sanction to prosecute the accused within the stipulated three-four months, then the permission would be deemed to have been granted.
The order had come on applications filed by four of the accused, including a retired Army official, for appropriate directions or dropping of proceedings against them in the absence of sanction to prosecute them under Section 197(2) of CrPC.
Section 197(2) stipulates that the court should not take cognisance of an alleged offence without prior sanction of the government.
The four accused -- the then vice chief of Army, SK Singh, retired Lt Gen BS Thakur (the then DG of Military Intelligence), Maj Gen SL Narshiman (ADG of Public Information) and Col Hitten Sawhney -- were summoned by the court along with VK Singh in connection with the complaint.
Tejinder Singh had filed the complaint alleging that he was defamed by the Army through a press release issued on March 5, 2012, in which he was accused of offering a bribe of Rs 14 crore to the then Army chief to clear a deal for 600 trucks, a charge refuted by him.
The five accused had appeared before court on July 20, 2012, in response to the summonses issued against them. They were all granted bail by the court on the same day.
Tejinder Singh has accused them of misusing their official position and power and authority to level false charges against him.
The press release had accused Tejinder Singh, former chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency, and some serving officers of Military Intelligence, of planting a story in the media relating to purported tapping of some sensitive phone numbers in the national capital.
The court had said it was "prima facie" satisfied that the March 5, 2012, press release was "defamatory" as an "ex-facie" serious allegation of "bribery" had been made against Tejinder Singh, who had a long and distinguished career in the Army.
Image: Ex-Army chief General VK Singh
