Jaitley: Lt. Gen. Suhag's appointment as army chief is final

The opposition raised the issue after former army chief and now a minister in the BJP-led government V.K. Singh tweeted: "If unit kills innocents, does dacoity and then head of organization tries to protect them, should he not be blamed? Criminals should go free!"

Gen. V.K. Singh had imposed a disciplinary ban on Lt. Gen. Suhag in connection with an intelligence operation in Assam. Gen. Bikram Singh later lifted the ban soon after he took over in May 2012, and Lt Gen Suhag is set to succeed Gen. Bikram Singh as army chief.

An affidavit earlier this month to the Supreme Court by the defence ministry in a promotion case related to Lt. Gen. Ravi Dastane, said the alleged lapses which were made as grounds to impose disciplinary ban on Suhag were "premeditated", "vague" and "illegal".

Jaitley, soon after taking charge as defence minister had also said that the decision on the new army chief is final and there should be no controversy about it.

According to sources, the defence minister has questioned ministry officials why the affidavit was not shown to him before being sent to the Supreme Court.