New Delhi: Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, who was last year acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon Blast case, has been approved for promotion to Brigadier and will continue to serve for at least two more years.
The development comes just weeks after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) put on hold his retirement from service which was due on 31 March, 2026.
Though he had missed his promotion as a full Colonel, the Lt-Col became a time-scale Colonel and would have retired at the age of 54.
However, he will now serve the Indian Army for a minimum of another two years as a Brigadier since the retirement age for that rank in the Army is 56.
Sources said this means Col Purohit will have all avenues of career progression just like any other Brigadier, meaning he could even pick up his next rank eventually.
Purohit was acquitted in July last year in the 2008 Malegaon blast case and had moved the tribunal, claiming the 17-year trial had deprived him of his fundamental right to fair consideration for promotion and affected his normal career progression.
Though Purohit had rejoined service following his release on bail in 2017, he remained under suspension until it was revoked in July 2020. A Discipline and Vigilance (DV) Ban, however, continued to operate against him. Therefore, despite being considered for promotion to the rank of Colonel in February 2021, the decision was withheld.
Purohit was informed about his consideration after he was acquitted, months before his retirement date, and was told he was not found fit for promotion to the rank of Colonel.
In his plea, Purohit challenged the procedure the Army had followed in his case, arguing that the force could not have kept his result in a sealed cover if he was unfit for promotion.
His lawyer S.S. Pandey argued that doing so denied him two more chances for consideration for promotion, as well as his right to legally question the decision.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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