A woman Colonel serving in the Indian Army's Western Command has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging her recent transfer order. The officer alleges that the transfer is a retaliatory measure aimed at preventing her from pursuing a sexual harassment case she filed against four senior officers in February.
The Colonel, who was previously stationed at a Corps Headquarters, has been reassigned as an 'additional officer' to a Division Headquarters. She claims this new posting is unwarranted and lacks a legitimate vacancy for an officer of her rank.
The transfer order, issued while she was on leave, came shortly after the National Commission of Women acknowledged her complaint about the Army's inaction regarding her sexual harassment case.
The accused officers, including the Station Commander, the Chief Signal Officer, the Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Western Command, and the officiating Commanding Officer of the Military Police Unit, have been named in an FIR filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act. The FIR details allegations of stalking, confinement, defamation, and sexual harassment.
The origins of this case can be traced back to August 2023, when a Court of Inquiry was initiated to investigate a security breach at the Corps Headquarters. This inquiry was prompted by a criminal trespass incident at the Colonel's residence, which she reported to the local police. The four officers named in the FIR were involved in this inquiry.
The accused officers have sought to quash the FIR in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which has temporarily halted any coercive action against them. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has directed the Colonel to report to her new posting and then proceed on leave, while scheduling the matter for further hearing in July.
The Army's Western Command has declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings, stating that the matter is sub-judice.
