A General Court Martial on Sunday ordered the dismissal of a serving major general in the Indian Army over allegations of sexual harassment, The Indian Express reported. The verdict is subject to confirmation by Army Chief Bipin Rawat, unidentified officials said. The trial had started in June in Ambala in the jurisdiction of the western command, reports said.
The officer, MS Jamwal, was charged under Section 69 of the Army Act, read with Section 354 (outraging modesty of a woman by criminal force or assault) of the Indian Penal Code. He has denied the allegations against him and can appeal against the verdict.
Advocate Anand Kumar, who represented Jamwal, told ANI that they will appeal against the order as the “court has not at all looked into the defence case”. “Evidence has not been appreciated properly and decision has been passed in a haste,” he alleged.
A captain-rank woman officer of the judge advocate general branch of the Army had filed a written complaint against Jamwal when he was posted in the Assam Rifles in Nagaland in 2016, IANS reported. She had accused him of calling her to his room and molesting her, after which the Army ordered a court of inquiry. He claimed that he was being made a victim of the Army’s factional feud at the top level.
The court martial was presided over by a lieutenant general and had six major generals as its members.
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