In a decisive verdict, the Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL petition challenging the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh as the next Army Chief. This verdict, however, does not affect any legal proceedings against him in connection with the alleged fake encounter in J&K. Earlier, the SC Bench had asked for the file from the government clearing the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh. The Court said that it had studied the file and found that there were not one but many allegations brought against the General but the Government had, at its level, cleared him of all those doubts and finally cleared his appointment. As such the court did not find any reason why it should interfere in the decision of the Government in this regard. The age issue of COAS also came up in the course of debate but the court brushed it aside saying that that case had already been disposed off and would not be reopened. The counsel for the petitioners made a strong plea that Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh was implicated in UN Congo mission besides the J&K alleged fake encounter but the court did not uphold any of these objections and ruled the dismissal of the petition reiterating that the Government had cleared him at various levels.
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