Sukna scam: Court adjourned after receiving replies of accused

The court conducting the court martial of Sukna land scam accused Lt Gen (retired) Awadesh Prakash today adjourned after receiving the replies of the defence.

In a brief hearing held at the 51 sub-area army military station at Nareng, the court received the replies and adjourned till July 6.

The accused had earlier challenged the jurisdiction of the court and its members conducting his court martial but the court had maintained that it was in order.

According to army sources, several hearings will be conducted in the first such general court martial held in the military station and the final verdict is expected to take some time.

Prakash was held guilty by the court of inquiry last year for illegally giving land near Sukna cantonment to private builders, and his court martial orders were given prior to his retirement on January 31, 2010 following the intervention of defence minister AK Antony

Prakash, who was the military secretary in former Army Chief Deepak Kumar's office, could lose his rank and face a pension cut under the potential sentence under severe reprimand.

Apart from Prakash, Lt Gen P K Rath, Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and Major Gen PK Sen were also found guilty in the scam.