Major dismissed, gets three-year RI for loan fraud with soldier

A summary general court martial (SGCM) has cashiered a Major from service and sentenced him to three-year rigorous imprisonment on charges of inducing a soldier to procure a bank loan and diverting a part of the amount.

The matter had come to light when the officer, belonging to the Rajputana Rifles, was posted with the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir. The soldier from whom he had asked for money was his buddy.

He was tried on three counts under Sections 45, 52 and 63 of the Army Act for behaving in a manner unbecoming of his position and character expected of him, intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline, respectively. According to the chargesheet, between January and May 2021, he had induced a soldier from his battalion to take a loan from the State Bank of India (SBI) in order to utilise the loan amount himself.

He got a loan of Rs 11.39 lakh processed in the soldier’s name from the SBI without his knowledge and had thereafter, in contravention of Army regulations, “inappropriately borrowed” the aforesaid amount from the solder citing urgent domestic requirement and transferred Rs 3.03 lakh to his bank account. The officer had pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him. The SGCM, however, convicted him on all three counts.

“During the course of the trial, the officer’s bank accounts and financial transactions also came to light, which revealed that he had been receiving varying amounts from a large number of persons, including women. In addition, there were also large credits into his account from the Controller of Defence Accounts, that seemed unusual,” Brig DK Ahluwalia (retd), the prosecution counsel in the case, said.

The general court martial, presided over by Col R Balla, had commenced in October 2024 and concluded this week. The court’s findings and sentence are subject to confirmation by the convening authority.

Tried on three counts

The Major was tried on three counts under Sections 45, 52 & 63 of the Army Act for behaving in a manner unbecoming of his position and character expected of him, intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline, respectively.