NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Indian Army finds that Court of Inquiry (CoI) proceedings are taking an unusually long time, extending up to 11 years in collecting evidence and reporting on matters referred to them.
Out of 95 cases involving financial losses in the Central, Eastern and Western Commands, only 46 cases and 25 cases respectively met the stipulated timeline for assembly and completion of CoI.
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“There were persistent delays in finalisation of the Col (Court of Inquiry) proceedings in Indian Army”, says CAG report on Union Government (Defence Services-Army) laid in the Parliament last week.
In 10 cases related to fire incidents, convening orders were issued by authorities below the required Command Headquarters level.
Additionally, the terms of reference (ToR) in 28 out of 29 cases lacked clarity on assigning responsibility or specifying applicable Army Rules, Orders, Instructions etc.. 13 of these 29 cases also omitted any assessment of the extent of loss or damage to life and property.
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The CoI assessed financial losses totaling ₹50.76 crore across 95 cases. Of this, ₹7.12 crore was regularized in 43 cases by April 2022. However, for 52 cases involving ₹43.64 crore, there was no available information on whether the losses were regularized by the Competent Financial Authority.
In 57 out of 95 cases, documents related to notifying accounting authorities, such as the Controllers of Defence Accounts (CsDA), were missing. This lack of documentation made it difficult to confirm if losses were reported to CsDA during or after investigations. Among the 38 remaining cases, 20 involved delays in reporting financial losses to CsDA, ranging from three months to over two years.
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These findings highlight the need for stricter adherence to timelines, improved documentation, and clearer procedural guidelines to ensure accountability and expedite the resolution of financial loss cases. The Indian Army continues to work towards streamlining its processes to address these challenges effectively.