New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) The Supreme Court will hear, on May 30, plea by the central government challenging the Armed Forces Tribunal order imposing a cost of Rs.50 lakhs on the defence secretary, the army chief and the military secretary as it dismissed a plea by Lt.Gen. N.K. Mehta whom it had earlier directed to be reverted as brigadier.
The Lucknow bench of AFT had earlier held that the promotion of then Brigadier Mehta to major general was flawed and he should be reverted back as brigadier. By the time the AFT order had come, Mehta had got another promotion and had become a lt. general.
The earlier order of reversion was stayed by the apex court as it allowed Mehta to move AFT to seek certain clarifications. However, AFT, by its May 13 order, reiterated its earlier order of reversion of Mehta as brigadier and also imposed a cost of Rs.5 lakh on him and Rs.50 lakh on the top defence functionaries.
A vacation bench of Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice D.Y.Chandrachud directed the listing of the matter on May 30 as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi urged the court for an early hearing of the case,, describing it as a peculiar situation case where after dismissing an appeal for relief, the AFT goes to impose a cost of Rs.50 lakh.
