Lt Gen Rath charged with fraud in Sukna scam

The Army has charged Lieutenant General P K Rath with granting a No Objection Certificate to a private realtor with an "intent to defraud" even as his counsel has said the Court of Inquiry did not talk about any such intent during its probe in the Rs 300 crore Sukna land scam case.

In the ongoing Summary of Evidence proceedings in the case, seven 'tentative charges' have been slapped against the former 33 Corps Commander, which can draw a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment, Army sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.

Reacting to the defraud charges against his client, Rath's counsel Ajit K Singh said, "there is a complete disconnect between the Court of Inquiry (COI) and the charges being levelled in the Summary of Evidence against my client as the probe didn't at all talk about any intent of defraud by Lt Gen Rath."

The defraud charges against Rath have been framed under the Section 52 of the Army Act, under which the guilty personnel are liable to face a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Rath is also charged with taking the decision to sign the MoU and granting NOC "improperly and without authority" and without "due and proper" examination of security concerns of the Army installations at the Sukna military station, sources said.

He is also accused of not informing the Eastern Command headquarters about 33 Corps' decision to grant NOC to the private builders for constructing educational institutes next to the Military Station in Sukna.