Army officer files complaint,may go to court for top rank

In a move that could trigger a row about a “succession battle” in the Army,a senior officer has complained to the Army Chief that he should have been elevated as Army Commander in place of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh,who is slated to take over as the next Army Chief.

Lt Gen Ravi Dastane,who came under the scanner some time ago after his Leh-based 14 Corps soldiers fought a pitched battle with officers and injured their commanding officer,is likely to file two pleas before the Armed Forces Tribunal,in which he will seek retrospective elevation to the rank of Army Commander from June 1 this year,the time when Lt Gen Dalbir Singh was appointed the Eastern Army Commander.

The pleas will reason that Lt Gen Dalbir should not have been appointed Commander as former Army Chief Gen V K Singh had put him under a discipline and vigilance ban for a failed intelligence operation in Assam. The ban was lifted within days of Gen Bikram Singh taking over as Chief.