Court summons retired Army chief V K Singh in defamation case
08 Jun 2012
A week after he retired as Chief of Army Staff, a Delhi court has summoned General V K Singh and four serving top officers, as ''accused'' in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh.
In his defamation case filed in the Delhi High Court, Tejinder Singh had blamed Gen V K Singh of spreading misinformation in an Army press release over alleged bribary demands.
''In light of the aforesaid discussion and the discussion in the order dated May 18, all the respondents are summoned as accused in the present matter,'' the court order read.
Besides Gen V K Singh, the court has summoned Vice Chief of Army Staff S K Singh and Director General of Military Intelligence Lt Gen B S Thakur on 20 July to face prosecution under the penal provisions relating to defamation and committing a criminal act with intention or knowledge.
The maximum punishment prescribed under the penal provisions is a jail term of two years with or without fine.
The former army chief and other officers have the option of either appearing before the magistrate or challenging the summons before the sessions judge or the Delhi High Court.
