The Chandigarh bench of a military tribunal Wednesday commuted the one-year sentence awarded to retired Major Dimple Singla, who was the first woman officer of the Indian Army to face a court martial, to dismissal from service.
The retired officer had been sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment after an army court March 4, 2010 held her guilty of corruption, indiscipline and professional impropriety.
Singla, who completed her tenure in 2007, was charged under Section 63 (violation of good order and army discipline) and Section 69 (prevention of corruption) of the Army Act. The court martial against her had commenced in 2007.
However, the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal Wednesday dropped the corruption charges levelled against Singla and commuted her one-year imprisonment to dismissal from service.
Singla was an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s branch that handles the army’s legal matters.She was commissioned on a short service tenure in March 1997. Her trial started in April 2007 but the court proceedings were adjourned several times for various reasons.
