I write for The Quint on the
unfortunate helicopter crash which is being speculated to have been caused by
friendly fire and wherein it was hinted in the media that the concerned officers
may be tried for culpable homicide.
The
Budgam Helicopter Crash: Fog of War and Culpability
Major
Navdeep Singh
The Budgam helicopter crash
incident of 27th February in which we lost precious lives of air
force personnel, is again in the news.
There were reports in the
media that the chopper came down on account of friendly fire and that the Air
Force was contemplating trying the officers responsible for the incident for culpable homicide. I even saw reports
and comments on social media that the pensionary and other benefits of the families
of the fallen would be determined as per the conclusions reached in the
investigation.
I personally find the above
quite odd for a variety of reasons.
Firstly,
while the hint of the friendly fire aspect might be true, I do not feel that a
conclusion of all attendant circumstances qua
the fixing of the blame can be reached until the statutory Court of Inquiry
convened by the Air Force under the Air Force Rules renders its report.
Secondly, in
case someone connected with the procedure has casually stated that the officers
would be tried for culpable homicide, the statement seems irresponsible simply
due to the fact that till now the Court of Inquiry has not reached a conclusion
or ascribed blame and hence it would be absolutely reckless and immature for
any person officially associated with the proceedings to make such a statement.
Thirdly,
the decision to take action against the guilty, if any, is of the concerned competent
authorities under law and not that of the Court of Inquiry, which is simply a fact
finding body and recommendatory in nature.
Fourthly, even
before the conclusion of the Court of Inquiry, and establishment of culpability,
it would totally be inappropriate to prejudge the matter and far-fetched to
comment upon the sections of law under which a person would be tried. In fact, this
is one aspect that the defence services, de
hors the instant case, need to be quite alive about, since statements such
as “the concerned official(s) shall be given exemplary punishment” start flying
left, right and centre even from senior officers on any unfortunate happening
or alleged crime, which clearly gives rise to the fear of institutional bias
and prejudgement.
Fifthly,
the incident, though extremely unfortunate, can plainly be ascribed to fog of
war and battle ambiguities, albeit highly undesirable in a limited conflict
situation, and would at the most be a case of negligence leading to death
(Section 304-A Indian Penal Code), and cannot, by any stretch of imagination,
be termed as culpable homicide (Section 299 Indian Penal Code), which requires
an element of “intention” or “knowledge”. In any case, there are specific
provisions related to such incidents available under the Air Force Act, such as
Section 62 (Offences in relation to aircraft and flying) which again grade the wrongdoing
into higher and lower category based upon the fact whether the action was
wilful or otherwise.
Sixthly, it
would be inane to tag the issue with release of benefits to the families of
those who unfortunately passed away in this incident. The grant of benefits to
the families would have no connexion whatsoever with the culpability of the
concerned employees. The families of the fallen are casualties in an
operational area and are eligible to full and liberalized pensionary benefits
and ex-gratia as is available to deaths in operations. The locale of the
incident is a notified operational region.
While the incident was
extremely unfortunate, it is hoped and expected that the Court of Inquiry
reveals the nuts and bolts of the happenings of that fateful day, not only to
establish the truth, but also to ensure that such mishap never happens in the
future.
I am confident of the fact
that not only would the Air Force go into the very minute details of the matter
without prejudging any guilt of any personality involved, but would also
display the moral courage expected of it in unravelling the truth.
Irrespective of the
regrettable circumstances surrounding this incident, the nation and the defence
services firmly stand behind the families of those whom we lost that day in
February.
