HC gives second chance to a flight cadet whose training was terminated
The trainee cadet was thrown out of Air Force Academy as he allegedly used his course mate’s ATM card to withdraw money
NEW DELHI: A trainee flight cadet at the Air Force Academy in Dundighal — who was thrown out of the academy for allegedly secretly withdrawing cash through his course mate’s ATM card — has been a second chance by the Delhi high court which ruled against the termination of his traineeship.
A bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani directed the Chief of the Air Staff to decide on the penalty to be imposed on flight cadet Mohit Bhandari after examining mitigating factors such as his conduct and discipline during the three years of traineeship.
Bhandari’s training at the prestigious academy was terminated with only about a month away from training being completed after he allegedly chanced upon the ATM card of his course mate in the cadets’ changing room.
He reportedly used the card to withdraw `5,000.
After being intimated on the same day about the cash withdrawal by the bank, the trainee cadet — whose ATM card was stolen — lodged a complaint with the instructor.
Later, all cadets undergoing training were gathered and the case was disclosed to give an opportunity to the perpetrator to own up to his actions.
However, Bhandari could not muster the “moral courage” before his buddies, sources said.
Instead, he put a letter under the pillow of the flight cadet, the owner of the ATM card, in which Bhandari did not disclose his identity but stated that the author of the letter was a good friend of his and requested him to withdraw the complaint in the interest of his undisclosed friend.
From the contents of the letter, the flight cadet understood that it was Bhandari who had taken his card. Bhandari apologised to him and returned the ATM card and `5,000. The Air Force had remarked that Bhandari’s action amounted to a deliberate act of gross indiscipline amounting to theft which was indicative of serious lack of officer-like qualities. It said theft is considered an act of serious indiscipline. On November 27, 2013, he was handed over a letter informing about the termination of his traineeship. In a letter addressed to the Chief of the Air Staff, Bhandari had said he had `13,000 in his bank account but he was unable to access it as his banker had blocked his ATM card as he did not have a PAN card. The court noted that the Review Training Board while recommending termination of his training overlooked his overall performance during the traineeship as a flying cadet which it said was of that of a “disciplined cadet”. “Not once in three years was anything adverse noted,” the court said adding, “…It has to be kept in mind that the cadets are immature, impulsive and prone to drift”.