Officers in trouble with civilian authorities: what to do?

What happens when a serving officer gets into trouble with civilian authorities? Can or should the military suspend him or her? This question is now front-and-center in a high-profile case involving an Indian Army lieutenant colonel. Details here, in a solid detailed report. Excerpt:

The release on bail of Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, a key accused in the Malegaon bombing of 2008, has sparked a debate on his fate and his continuing service in the Army. 

Speculation is rife that Purohit would be suspended, but sources in the Army indicated that was unlikely. Purohit is likely to be attached to an Army unit close to the court where his trial will take place. According to the Defence Service Regulations for the Army, 1987, any military personnel arrested by civil authorities or facing trial in a civil court can be suspended from service depending on the nature of the offence. The discretion to suspend the personnel has been left to Army Headquarters, which is unlikely to do so. 

Paragraph 349 of the army regulations states:

“An officer may be suspended from duty by his OC [Officer Commanding] or any other superior authority, not only when he himself submits his case for investigation, but also in any case in which his character or conduct as an officer and a gentleman is impugned. An officer arrested by the civil authorities on a criminal charge may be suspended from duty from the date of his arrest, depending upon the nature of the offence and the extent of his involvement.” 

In Purohit’s case, the offence is grave. He is charged under several anti-terrorism and organised crime laws. The police have named him as the main conspirator behind the Malegaon bombing, accusing him of illegally procuring from the Army 60 kg of RDX explosive to carry out the attack. He was arrested in 2009.