ADULTERY IN ARMY
who were posted in Kashmir. As they are both serving officers, they requested that their identities not be disclosed.
The first case dates back to 2018, when one of the woman officers and her two children were posted in a different location from her husband of 14 years. Her husband ended up having an affair with a single, much younger woman officer who was posted along with him. In her statement, the wife said her husband felt she was too busy with her own life when in reality, she was trying to juggle a full-time job and two children, aged 12 and 10.
The woman officer said “the organisation acted blind in our case”. “No action was taken against them and that made both of them even more courageous,” she wrote. Two years later, she divorced her husband but she claims this was well after she was forced to withdraw her complaint after other officers refused to testify about the affair.
“He was a commanding officer of a unit; no one wanted to object to him. A wife will always be under mental pressure but is it OK for organisation to let such an officer serve?” she asked. Her counsellor, who is associated with the forces (and who is not authorised to speak to the media), told HT that this was a problem specific to women officers. “Wives of officers can always complain to their commanding officer’s wife who then asks the CO to put pressure on the cheating husband.they use various means to help the couple reconcile.’’
“As far as law is concerned, it equally applies to both. Practical realities may vary per various factors. But it’ll be hypothetical to comment unless any such situation is laid in front of us,” said Major Navdeep Singh, advocate, Punjab & Haryana high court, who served in the Territorial Army.
The second case refers to two officers who separated two years ago and have a young son. The husband was posted in Jammu & Kashmir and had an affair with a medical officer when his wife was pregnant. In her complaint, the officer writes about the husband not visiting her after the baby was born and being inaccessible on the phone. The commanding officer finally convinced him to visit but things only got worse. Finally, the woman officer filed a complaint with the local police and the army, but said she was forced to withdraw that too.
“There is a clear policy in place and the act is the same for both men and women, but it is twisted and manipulated in the case of women officers. Senior officers choose to react selectively and promote out-of-court settlement rather than a departmental enquiry,” said the first woman complainant.
While an army spokesperson declined to comment, an officer said on condition of anonymity that in some cases, women officers have been reluctant to seek a superior officer’s intervention. “I have called in male officers and their wives and do the same for women officers too,” he said.
Additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan, who argued the defence ministry’s case in court, said: “I can only say that the armed forces require their own code of conduct in order to maintain discipline in the forces. The judgment striking down adultery is being applied to quash disciplinary proceedings in some cases. The provisions of the statutes which govern the armed forces permit disciplinary action in a manner different from the civilian population. That should be left intact and untouched.’’
Lawyer Chitrangada Rastravara pointed out that there were several actions which did not constitute an offence under the penal laws of India, but are punishable offences under the Army Act. “For example, desertion has no consequences under penal law; however it is a very serious offence, punishable by death, under military law,” she said.