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The allegation against the officers was that allegedly there was a WhatsApp group called 'Patiala Peg' which was infiltrated by Pakistan Intelligence Operative to find secret and classified defence information.
Four senior Army officers have petitioned the Supreme Court claiming that military authorities have breached their constitutional right to privacy by seizing their cell phones for an espionage inquiry before suspending three of them for moral reasons.
Two of the officers who have been suspended are employed by the Military Intelligence Directorate in Delhi, while the third works as an instructor at the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College. Mumbai is the fourth officer's posting.
The plea submits that the Directorate General of Military Intelligence ordered the Army to take their digital assets, including their mobile phones.
Although no evidence against any of these officers' involvement in espionage was discovered during the Army's subsequent inquiry, the officers claimed in the petition that they were suspended on May 8 for breaching the Army's cyber security policy.
However, the suspension order states that the Board of Officers (BOO) found evidence that impinges on their conduct as officers and gentlemen while assessing the digital assets of the officers.
[Source: The Indian Express]
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