IAF sacks first woman officer

Bangalore: In a landmark judgement, Flying Officer Anjalli Gupta, who was courtmartialed on the grounds of insubordination, was found guilty.

Anjalli, who was facing a court martial, was found guilty on five counts on Thursday by The General Court Martial (GCM).

Capping a nearly eight-month long trial, 30-year-old Gupta was cashiered (dismissed from service) without any benefits.

GCM, presided over by Group Captain V Ganesh, pronounced the verdict subject to confirmation. IAF sources said the sentence should be confirmed by Chief of Air Staff to take effect.

Charges against her included absenteeism from parade, briefings and sports as well as activities not befitting an officer.

She was also guilty of misrepresentation of funds but the court said this charge should be amended.

Anjalli, who was employed at the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Bangalore, was convicted on charges of indiscipline, insubordination and financial irregularities.

She was absolved of two charges, pertaining to financial irregularities, due to lack of evidence.

In February, 2005, Anjalli, who had accused three senior officers of sexually harassing her, lodged a complaint of sexual harassment at the HAL police station in Bangalore.

The police station instead of lodging an FIR, issued an advisory notice to Anjali, asking her to resolve the issue with her superiors.

The notice stated that the case was an internal matter of the Indian Air Force and was best left to the superiors to resolve.

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In March, Anjalli was taken into custody from where she sent a written complaint to the Chief of Air Staff and the Ministry of Defence.

In April, a three-member tribunal of the IAF initiated court-martial proceedings against her.

The judicial branch of the IAF studied the charges, after which a court of inquiry was ordered, the proceedings of which began on May 2, 2005.

Anjali also approached the Karnataka High Court, asking for a CBI inquiry into her charges. The High Court issued notices to the CBI and the city police, asking them to probe the charges against the three officers mentioned in Anjali's complaint.

Simultaneously, Anjalli had approached the Karnataka State Women's Commission seeking support in her struggle.

GCM began its proceedings on April 12 this year and went on till September 12, when it was adjourned sine die following the ill-health of a member of the five-member jury, before resuming the sitting from October 24.

GCM had around 85 sittings, and IAF sources said the GCM trial is the longest in IAF's history.