A Gharwal rifles jawan had shot dead his guard commander and later tried to kill selF
Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, November 5
Upholding the sentence of life imprisonment and dismissal from service awarded by a court martial to an army jawan for shooting dead his guard commander and attempting suicide, the Armed Forces Tribunal has ruled that such cases should be dealt with strictly in order to maintain discipline.
Upholding the charges against the jawan to be legally and factually sustainable, the Tribunal held that the general court martial (GCM) had considered all the aspects in proper perspective and there was no infirmity in the order passed by the GCM.
“We are further of the view that Army personnel who are involved in such activities should not be dealt leniently. Nobody should escape from the clutches of law in order to set an example to others with a view to maintain Army discipline,” the Tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Umesh Chandra Srivastava and Vice Admiral Abhay Raghunath Karve remarked in its recent order.
The GCM had tried the jawan, belonging to the Gharwal rifles, on two charges. The first charge under Section 69 of the Army Act, contrary to Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, was for committing murder by shooting a colleague, while the second charge under Section 64(c) of the Army Act was for attempting to commit suicide by shooting himself on his chest and thigh.
The jawan, along with a Naik, who was the guard commander, and another jawan were detailed for sentry duty at night at the main gate of their unit’s complex. He had fired at the guard commander and later shot at himself. The unit’s medical officer had pronounced the Naik dead at the site of the incident while the injured jawan was moved to hospital.
The GCM had examined 19 prosecution witnesses, including the other jawan on guard duty who was an eyewitness to the incident. The defence had contended that there was no motive for the jawan to kill his commander, the prosecution could not prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, there were disparities in statements of witnesses and many issues left untouched or unanswered.
The Bench held that based on statements by the eyewitness and the facts on record, the prosecution has been able to prove that the jawan had killed the guard commander and later he tried to commit suicide by firing two cartridges by the same rifle, as proved by forensic reports.
The Bench also made an important observation that some of the material placed on record clearly established that all the persons were drunk, but it could not be proved in the court of inquiry. Also it could not be established that the jawan fired upon the commander under the influence of alcohol.