New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has issued a show-cause notice to a fighter pilot, accused of rape and found in violation of security protocols by a court of inquiry, asking him to explain why his services should not be terminated, officials familiar with the situation disclosed on Friday. The notice was served to the officer, a wing commander stationed at the Ambala airbase, on Thursday.
The officials noted that the IAF upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards such misconduct, including acts of moral turpitude.
Media outlets reported that the IAF is taking stringent action against the 40-year-old wing commander, accused of rape by a former civilian intern at an IAF facility. He was also found guilty of breaching security protocols at Air Force Station Ambala, one of India’s most prominent fighter bases, where he serves in a Jaguar fighter squadron.
The former intern, 25, who worked at the Institute of Aerospace Safety in Palam, Delhi, which falls under the IAF’s purview, also accused the officer of criminal intimidation.
The wing commander, who was commissioned into the IAF in June 2007, was subjected to two separate IAF investigations – a court of inquiry initiated by the commanding officer of Air Force Station Ambala and another by the head of the Western Air Command, based in Delhi. The first inquiry focused on the breach of security protocols, while the second addressed the rape allegations.
The security violation at the Ambala airbase, which houses both Rafale and Jaguar fighter jets, included the officer enabling unauthorized access to the technical areas of the airbase, using mobile phones in restricted zones, and distributing photographs of aircraft.
Following the woman intern’s complaint, lodged at Connaught Place police station on December 1, 2023, the Delhi Police registered a first information report (FIR) under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and launched an investigation into the allegations.
In a detailed 22-page complaint submitted to the IAF in March 2024, the intern accused the wing commander of taking her to a hotel in Connaught Place under the pretext of conducting a stress assessment, where he allegedly raped her. This occurred two months after they first met during a conference at Ambala airbase in September 2022.
The wing commander filed a petition with the Delhi high court, on August 28, seeking a stay on the two IAF inquiries.
His legal counsel argued that the subjects of the two IAF courts of inquiry overlapped with the ongoing police investigation and requested that no action be taken based on the findings of the IAF inquiries until the court gives further direction.
Representing the government, the additional solicitor general, Chetan Sharma, stated that no action was being considered regarding the rape charges, which were already under investigation in the FIR filed at Connaught Place police station. However, the proposed disciplinary actions related to the officer’s breach of mandatory protocols, which compromised the security of the Air Force station and, by extension, the nation.
A bench comprising Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Shalinder Kaur directed that until the next hearing, while the respondents were permitted to proceed with disciplinary or administrative actions, they were not to pass any final orders without the court’s approval.
The case is set to be heard again on November 5.
It is worth noting that in September, as India Sentinels had reported, another wing commander was accused of rape by a 26-year-old flying officer at the Budgam airbase in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. The flying officer lodged a police complaint, alleging that the wing commander raped her on New Year’s Eve. She further claimed that significant lapses in the internal IAF investigation led to additional harassment and psychological distress.
The Jammu & Kashmir Police are currently investigating these accusations.
