SRINAGAR: A Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) of the Army has sentenced a Lieutenant to dismissal from service after finding him guilty of assaulting a woman officer with the intention of outraging her modesty in Jammu and Kashmir.
The verdict was delivered on November 11, following court-martial proceedings that began in August 2026 at a military station under the Army’s 15 Corps in Jammu and Kashmir, The Indian Express reported.
The incident dates back to November 2025 and took place at an undisclosed location in a regiment of the Army Air Defence Corps. The convicted officer has barely two years of service, while the woman officer was recently commissioned at the time of the incident.
According to the newspaper’s report, the Lieutenant was charged under Section 69 of the Army Act, which deals with civil offences committed by military personnel, read with Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Section 74 of the BNS corresponds to Section 354 of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and deals with assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty.
The prosecution’s case was that a birthday party had been organised for the woman officer in November 2025, which was attended by single male and female officers of the regiment. The accused officer allegedly entered her room while she was asleep and lay down on top of her.
In his defence, the Lieutenant maintained that he had no recollection of the incident, claiming that he was under the influence of alcohol and could not remember having committed any such act.
The SGCM was presided over by a Colonel and included a woman Lieutenant Colonel and a Major as members. It concluded that the principal allegation against the officer had been established, although related allegations were not supported by the evidence.
The court consequently awarded dismissal from service but did not impose a prison sentence. Section 74 of the BNS prescribes imprisonment ranging from one to five years, besides liability to fine.
The findings and sentence of the court martial are, however, subject to confirmation by higher military authorities. In this case, the confirming authority is the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army’s Northern Command.
