New Delhi, July 7
The Supreme Court today cleared the way for Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag to take over as the Army Chief on August 1 by refusing to stay his appointment. He will succeed General Bikram Singh.

A Bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and AK Goel said it did not find any valid reason for staying the appointment as the Centre had defended Lt General Suhag’s elevation, contending that he fulfilled all the criteria for the post.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Lt General Ravi Dastane, alleging that the government had deliberately favoured Lt General Suhag by ignoring material facts against him, including the disciplinary and vigilance (DV) ban slapped on him in April 2012 by the then Army Chief General VK Singh.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said Lt General Suhag stood discharged from all charges and the ban was no longer in place.

Earlier, the Defence Ministry had filed an affidavit, terming the disciplinary proceedings initiated against Lt General Suhag as “premeditated, vague and illegal.”

General VK Singh, who is now a minister in the NDA government at the Centre, had initiated the action against Lt General Suhag for his alleged “failure of command and control” while carrying out an intelligence operation when he was Dimapur-based 3 Corps Commander.

Lt General Suhag’s appointment had been announced by the UPA government, just days before demitting office. The new Defence Minister Arun Jaitley subsequently clarified that his elevation was acceptable to the NDA government and there was no question of any rethink.

The NDA government was, however, not happy with the Defence Ministry’s strongly-worded affidavit, embarrassing General VK Singh who had to face calls for his resignation from the ministry for questioning the integrity of the Army Chief-designate.