Kargil's Undead Rise Again

In the petition that came for its first hearing last week before a bench comprising Justices B.A. Khan and J.D. Kapoor, army generals occupying crucial positions during the Kargil war have been made respondents by Singh. These include former chief of army staff V.P. Malik and current director-general, resettlement, at army headquarters, Maj Gen V.S. Budhwar, who was then GOC 3 infantry division and Singh’s immediate superior.

Singh was peremptorily dismissed from service on May last year against the background of the controversy pertaining to the leak of a series of Kargil letters to the media. These letters, written by Singh to his superiors, spelt out the enhanced threat-perception in the Kargil sector much before the actual intrusions were first acknowledged in May 1999. The controversy left the army red-faced, although it has strongly denied the existence and the contents of such correspondence.

The 333-page petition contains several sensitive annexures, including Singh’s controversial correspondence with his superiors and a detailed 68-page representation he sent to Gen Malik. The petition also contains the text of the brief prepared by Singh in August 1998 for Gen Malik’s visit to Kargil. Citing reasons of national security, the army has objected to publicising of confidential documents attached in the petition. Whether the documents should be made public will be decided in the next hearing on September 6.