The Defence ministry has put its foot down on a lieutenant general’s promotion as deputy chief of army staff, as he is being investigated in a land scam case in Bengal.

The ministry scrapped the posting of P. K. Rath, who is facing a Court of Inquiry (CoI) for his role in granting a no-objection certificate (NOC) for land allotment to a ‘dubious’ educational society near Siliguri.

The inquiry found that the educational institution had falsely claimed to be affiliated with Ajmer-based Mayo College to obtain the NOC for 70 acres. The certificate was required as the land was located close to the military station.