Threat by major’s wife to sue Army

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Threat by major’s wife to sue Army

Asit Jolly

Chandigarh

Original Story at >>

http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/top-story/threat-by-major%E2%80%99s-wife-to-sue-army.aspx

July 1: A young major’s wife has threatened legal action against the Indian Army after her husband’s commanding officer "spoiled" his annual confidential report after she refused to do any work for the Army Wives Welfare Association.

Issuing notice to the Army authorities, Ms Savneet Paul said Col. D.S. Loomba made adverse remarks in the ACR of her husband, Maj. P.S. Paul, after she refused to join in the AWWA’s activities as desired by the CO’s wife.

Maj. Paul is currently posted with a Rashtriya Rifles unit in Jammu and Kashmir. His "below average" ACR pertains to his earlier posting with 67 Engineers Regiment, where Col. Loomba was in command.

The CO, unusually, chose to assess the couple rather than the officer in the ACR. His report on the major reads: "On the social front, including AWWA activities, the couple’s performance was found to be below average."

Ms Paul insists the CO had "no business" to evaluate her in any manner whatsoever as she is not serving in the Army.

Her lawyers claim that besides recording adverse remarks in the ACR, the CO and his wife allegedly ordered others in the unit to boycott the major and his wife as well as consistently denied them all regimental help.

Advocate Guneet Chaudhary said this was despite the fact that Ms Paul was pregnant at the time and could not possibly have followed Ms Loomba’s orders.

The legal notice, copies of which have been sent to the military secretary’s branch at Army Headquarters and the chief of staff of Central Command, Lt. Gen. Gautam Banerjee, alleges that the CO and his wife routinely forced junior officers’ wives to work for AWWA, which officially has the status of an NGO and is not part of the ministry of defence establishment.

"The Army authorities have acknowledged this in court," said Mr Chaudhary. "But contrary to what they swear under oath, the AWWA has become a parallel hierarchical organisation that is used to promote sycophancy in the Army. Many junior officers’ wives face similar harassment, but most of them do not complain for fear of action against their husbands."

The lawyer, who has led other legal petitions pertaining to the AWWA, said: "It is unacceptable that any commanding officer should base his appraisal on couples, when only one spouse serves in the Army."

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