NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has refused to stay disciplinary proceedings against two Indian Air Force officers in the dock for their role in an air accident after the Balakote strike last year.
Justice Asha Menon allowed the IAF authorities to carry on with their court of inquiry (CoI) against the two officers who were held responsible for circumstances leading to the shooting down of an Mi-17 helicopter of the IAF with its own missile in Kashmir’s Budgam on February 27 last year, when the Indian and Pakistani air forces were engaged in a dogfight.
Six IAF officers and one civilian lost their lives. Facing the prospect of a possible court martial, the officers had moved the HC against the Armed Forces Tribunal’s nod to the authorities to go ahead with the CoI process. “The scope of judicial review in respect of departmental proceedings is very limited,” the HC noted, while hearing a plea by Group Captain Suman Roy Chowdhury and Wing Commander Shyam Naithani.