New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court today turned down the petitions filed by Army officers against personal appearance in a defamation case filed against them by retired Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh. These five officers, including former army chief General VK Singh, have been sued by Tejinder Singh for allegations that he offered General Singh 14 crores as a bribe for clearing "substandard trucks" in 2010.
Three of these five officers had approached the High Court against the summons issued by a lower court, arguing that no prior sanction was sought; the High Court countered saying no prior sanction was required in this case. General Singh, however, is not among the officers who approached the High Court.
In March this year, the Army in a press release stated that Tejinder Singh, who retired in July 2010 as Director of Intelligence Agency (DIA) had tried to circumvent the guidelines to buy off-the-air monitoring equipment. The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) provides and coordinates intelligence for the Indian armed forces. The press release also said that Tejinder Singh had offered bribes on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited, which supplies trucks to the Army. Tejinder Singh, in his testimony in court, described the charges as completely "false and concocted" and says they "have caused immeasurable harm to his reputation."