An Indian Army Havildar clerk is being tried by summary court-martial at Binnaguri in West Bengal after allegations that official records were forged to trigger irregular allowance payments worth ₹5.58 crore to soldiers, with a claimed commission of ₹1.73 crore also under scrutiny.
How the case surfaced
The Havildar was posted with the 20 Mountain Artillery Brigade Camp. According to the report, the matter first came up after an audit objection by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) in 2022 over delayed publication of Part II orders. Investigators believe the alleged irregularities took place between December 2019 and September 2022.
An internal probe by the 20 Mountain Artillery Brigade Camp is said to have found that the Havildar had published 75 incorrect orders linked to temporary duty, 43 orders for children’s education allowance, 51 orders for hostel subsidy allowance, and 49 orders for house rent allowance. Hostel subsidy allowance is meant to help defence personnel meet boarding and lodging expenses for children studying in residential schools.
Flagged claim and follow-up inquiry
Army sources said the PCDA noticed an unusually high balance in the account of one jawan, along with a delayed Part II order connected to the same case. The jawan was issued a show-cause notice. He reportedly claimed hostel allowance from 2 April 2019 to 31 March 2022 at an inflated rate, even though his children were studying in LKG, Class 1, and Class 2. He admitted the incorrect claim and alleged that the Havildar had processed it in return for a commission. A detailed Court of Inquiry was then ordered.
Charges and legal challenge
The Army has charged the Havildar with nearly a dozen offences. These include accepting commissions for the false publication of Part II orders for various allowances, forging the Camp Commandant’s signatures, unauthorised use of the Commandant’s Human Resource Management System (HRMS) token, and use of a forged stamp of school authorities.
The Havildar approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) against the initiation of summary court-martial proceedings. He argued that the offences were time-barred under Section 122 of the Army Act, 1950. The AFT disposed of the application in June 2026 and said he could raise the limitation issue at the appropriate stage during the court-martial as per the procedure under the Army Rules, 1954.
Current status
The summary court-martial proceedings are underway at Binnaguri. The case underscores the importance of Part II orders in regulating pay and allowances for Army personnel, and the scrutiny applied by the PCDA to such records.
