Can't sack pilot for adultery, IAF told

JODHPUR/NEW DELHI: The military has been asked by the

Armed Forces Tribunal

to take a more lenient view on extramarital affairs and not award punishment as harsh as dismissal from service in such cases.

The observations by the Kolkata bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal were made while adjudicating a case last month related to the cashiering of a young Indian Air Force (

IAF

) officer, Flight Lieutenant

Ishan Sharan

, who was found guilty by a court of inquiry (CoI) of an extramarital affair with the officer wife of a brother officer. Squadron Leader Anindita Dasgupta committed suicide after the affair ended and Sharan married another woman four years ago.

The landmark judicial review by the AFT on September 14, 2016 has converted Flight Lieutenant Sharan's sentence from “dismissed from service“ to “released from service“. "The time has come when aspects such as unfortunate break-ups of existing marital relationships, consensual relationships with others and infidelity should not be viewed so seriously as to lead to the dismissal or even graver punishments that the IPC and statutory acts of the Army, Navy and Air Force provide for," the tribunal observed in its order.

“While not condoning extramarital relationships, we must at the same time reflect upon the changing mores of our society . With women joining the Armed Forces in large numbers, working closely and socialising with their male counterparts, it is unreasonable to expect that the military would be immune to social changes in relationships between the two sexes,“ the bench said.

Sharan was accused of “failing to exercise caution and restraint by staying with a senior lady officer in her house at Jodhpur's

Air Force Station

in the absence of her husband“. A CoI found him fit to be dismissed from service as he had been “behaving in a manner unbecoming of an officer by luring a senior lady officer into a relationship, thereby stealing her love and affection“. Anindita's husband, Sqadron Leader Vishak Nair, and Sharan were posted in Jodhpur at the time of the suicide in the intervening night of November 27-28, 2012. The tribunal took exception to the dismissal letter holding Sharan guilty of “stealing the affection of the wife of a brother officer“ and said its wording smacked of a patriarchal mindset.

“While certainly extramarital relations should not only be discouraged and disapproved of in no uncertain terms, to hold only one party responsible, that is, the male and not the female who may be as educated, as mature, even older and senior than the male, is reflective of a predisposed and biased mindset that also assumes that the wife of a brother officer is the property or chattel of the male and not an independent person in her own right who has the freedom to choose to live her life on her own terms,“ the tribunal said. It added, “The CoI did not take into account that in a marriage in the 21st century a well-qualified and educated wife, especially one in the Services and from a cosmopolitan background who holds the same rank as her husband, does have a mind of her own, a free will of her own, may pursue a path, however abhorrent and objectionable to her husband, including having an affair.“

The tribunal held that Sharan's dismissal was harsh, especially when the deceased seemed insistent on continuing with the relationship. It concluded that “at a belated stage, when much water has flowed under the bridge... it would be inexpedient and unwise to ask the Air Force authorities to take a fresh look at the entire episode in the light of the conclusions we have drawn. However, we cannot allow the stigma of dismissal to continue to remain on record given the circumstances of the case“.

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