Air Marshal A P Singh to take charge as new Chief of Air Staff on Sep 30
New Delhi, Sep 21: Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, an accomplished fighter pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience, will take charge as the chief of the Indian Air Force on September 30, succeeding incumbent Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
Air Marshal Singh is presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari will retire on September 30 after helming the force for three years.
"The government has appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, AVSM, presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff, as the next Chief of the Air Staff, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of September 30," the defence ministry said.
As Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Singh's priorities are expected to be the procurement of new fighter fleets and advancing the modernisation agenda of the force in view of the fast-evolving regional security landscape, including the challenges along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The number of the IAF's fighter squadrons has come down to around 30 as against the authorised strength of at least 42.
The air warrior played a key role in the IAF's hosting of the multinational wargame 'Tarang Shakti' recently.
Known as a fine strategist, Air Marshal Singh, in a message to the DRDO and other agencies apparently over delays in delivery of Tejas jets and other military systems, said publicly at an event in July that self-reliance in defence cannot be at the cost of national security.
Born on October 27, 1964, Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984.
In his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 40 years, he has served in a variety of command, staff, instructional and foreign appointments.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, the air officer is a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
The officer has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base.
As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 upgrade project management team in Moscow. He was also the project director (flight test) at the National Flight Test Centre and was tasked with flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas.
Air Marshal Singh is taking charge of the IAF amid concerns over delays in the supply of LCA Tejas-Mark 1A variant to the force by state-run aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
The officer has held important staff appointments of Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command.
Prior to assuming the charge of Vice Chief of the Air Staff in February last year, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command.
The Air Marshal is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. He is known as a fitness enthusiast who also plays squash.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
