VEEKAY’S NEWSLETTER -2025 Dear Friends, It is time to update all of you about my activities during the year. For the last several years I have been beset with problems concerning my health and my legal cases. The health issues are perhaps unavoidable, since age is catching up, as it does for everyone else. But the legal issues are an additional burden that not everyone faces at my age. I have crossed the 81st milestone in June, and am now classified a super senior citizen during my visits to hospitals. In addition, there are many domestic issues that are a cause for stress, but this happens in almost all families. In June 2021, I underwent a surgical procedure in the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre during which an implant was put in my back, comprising eight rods, ten screws and two cages. Everything seemed to go off well until it was discovered that two screws had become loose and one cage had shifted. This naturally causes some pain and considerable discomfort. It has severely affected my mobility, indoors and outdoors. I now need some support to get up from a chair, climb even one or two steps and walk around the house. For visits to the hospital or get-togethers, I have to use a wheel chair, which I carry in my car. I need a driver to drive long distances and in crowded areas. These problems have been mitigated to some extent by an attendant, who has been employed on a 24 hour basis. The problem is that most of them don’t stay for long and have to be changed frequently. Another issue was a urological problem due to enlargement of the prostate. I had to undergo surgery, known as TURP on 30th Dec 2024 in Artemis Hospital. Due to various reasons, the problems continued. I visited several urologists in different hospitals. There was little they could do except install a catheter for a week or two. Finally, my good friend – he is also my schoolmate and course mate – Maj Gen AJB Jaini suggested that I should consult Dr SK Rawal, the Head of Urology in the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute. I told him that I do not have cancer, but he insisted, since he was taking treatment from him for a similar ailment. In May I did that. On meeting Dr Rawal I discovered that he was a student of my cousin Dr RP Sahi, a renowned surgeon, in KGMC Lucknow. Dr Rawal praised him to high heavens and we spent a lot of time talking about him. He then got a cystoscopy done. He told me that my bladder had developed pouches and its walls are weak. He advised me not to fret and live with it. That is what I am doing now. There are several other health issues but I will skip them, since almost everyone of our age faces such problems. One as to live with them and that is what I have decided to do now. Coming to the legal problems, the most important one relates to the case filed against me by the CBI at the behest of RAW for writing the book titled India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) published in 2007. (The guys in that organisation insist that the abbreviated form is R&AW, but I have found that in the notification issued for its creation it was written as RAW). The book exposed the corruption, indiscipline and lack of accountability in the spy agency, which resulted in serious lapses in our security. Piqued by the exposure of their names, the sleuths convinced the authorities to slap a case against me under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. I had filed a petition in the High Court in 2008 to quash the FIR and charge sheet. Arguments in the case were closed and the judgement reserved on 11/8/2017. However, the judgment was pronounced only on 31/5/2023, more than five years after it was reserved. As expected, the petition to quash the proceedings was dismissed. Commander Mukesh Saini, a retired naval officer who is himself involved in a case under the OSA, introduced me to a senior counsel in the Supreme Court who was well known to him. I met the lady counsel along with Saini who felt that the case in 100% winnable. Somehow I got carried away by his confidence. The SLP was prepared by the Advocate on Record in consultation with Saini. The hearing was held in the Supreme Court on 25/9/2023. It was dismissed in less than five minutes. The judges refused to hear the arguments of the counsel. As a consolation they ordered that if we file an application for discharge, the trial court will not be influenced by the High Court judgement. This is not the only case that I lost. Based on an application from me, the CMM had ordered that copies of all documents connected with the case be given to me to prepare my defence. The CBI promptly appealed against this order in the High court in 2010. They submitted that the documents are very sensitive and giving copies to me would endanger national security. This case was also decided recently. The judge ordered that copies of documents would not be handed over to me or my counsel, but we will be allowed to examine them whenever required. Since no copies will be given, we are expected to have photographic memories to remember each word of the documents which may run into thousands of pages. Prashant Bhushan who had filed the petition to quash the case in 2008 again came to my rescue. We filed an SLP (special leave petition) in the Supreme Court against the order of the High Court. It was heard on 12/12/2025. I attended the hearing by VC. A two judge bench comprising JK Maheswari J. and Vijay Bishnoi J. issued a notice to the CBI returnable in four weeks. So there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The cases in the National Consumer Commission and RERA are still going on – after all the dictum Tarikh pe Tarikh has to be followed. The members of these tribunals, like judges, are not accountable to anyone. The Consumer Protection Act lays down that all cases will be decided in five months, but the members violate the law with nobody to question them. I have written twice to the Chairman of the NCDRC, but there has been no response. In fact these tribunals are now controlled by the lawyers, who grease the palms of the staff, to make sure that particular cases are always listed at the end, making sure it is not heard. I had noticed this many years ago in a case filed by me against the AWHO in the Delhi State Consumer Commission. After almost a dozen hearings I realised that my case will never be heard, as it is always listed at the end. In the next hearing I mentioned this when the court was about to rise. Justice JD Kapoor said that they have too many cases. I then asked him why cases filed after mine are being listed before my case. He went through the cause list and agreed with me. He promised that he will decide the case in the next hearing, which he did. Let us now turn to more pleasant subjects. This year, my friend Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar (he is an ex-JAG) requested me to take part in a podcast on certain personalities covered in my book Leadership in Indian Army – Biographies of Twelve Soldiers. The first few sessions were conducted in his house in NOIDA. Later, to avoid the long journey, we have been doing it by video conferencing. I find it very convenient since I can do it from home, using my laptop. He tells me that the feedback is very good. We still have a few personalities left, which we will do in the coming months. Another activity that I have recently started is reading Hindi books. I have got hold of six booklets having short stories written by Munshi Premchand, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Jai Shankar Prasad, Sadat Hasan Manto, Leo Tolstoy, and Maupassant. There is also a set of six paperbacks having novels and short stories written by Premchand, including Godaan, Gaban, Idgaah, Poos ki Raat, Thakur ka Kuan, Mritak Bhoj and many others. Of course, I had read most of these stories during my school days. One reason for my predilection for the writings of Munshi Premchand is that his grandson, Alok Rai was my class mate and best friend in school. Alok’s father, Amrit Rai, was himself a well-known writer, who got the Sahitya Academy Award for writing the biography of his father titled Kalam ka Sipahi. Alok’s mother, Sudha Chauhan was the daughter of the poetess Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, who wrote the poem Jhansi ki Rani. Alok and I appeared in NDA and IIT examinations together. We both qualified but he preferred an academic career. He went to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship. He started teaching English in Allahabad University, then went to IIT Delhi and finally to Delhi University, from where he retired. He still lives in his father’s house, Dhoop Chhanh, in Allahabad. We rarely meet now, but keep in touch on WhatsApp. Due to my restricted mobility, we rarely go on sightseeing trips on Sundays as we did till about 15-20 years back. The same goes for the annual holidays in the hills. But I still attend course and unit reunions and get-togethers, as well as family functions. In early February this year we went to Jaipur for a week to attend the engagement ceremony of Bhumika (she is the granddaughter of my wife’s elder sister). Later in February itself we had a course get-together in Chandigarh, hosted by the course mates who live in the Tri-City. It was an extremely enjoyable affair. Unlike most of the others who stayed in a hotel in Zirakpur, I stayed in the N Area Mess, where my attendant could sleep in the adjoining room. The next GT is planned in Goa in February 2026. Since no one in Goa, Poona or Delhi was ready to organise the event, the Tri City dam busters, as our course is known, volunteered to take it on. Hats off to them. In January 2026 we also plan to go to Jodhpur to attend the wedding of Bhumika, whose engagement was held in February in Jaipur. Marriages in Rajasthan last at least a week and the ladies have to carry many dresses, which makes air travel difficult. So we have decided not to fly but drive down, perhaps with a halt at Jaipur. I was posted in Jodhpur in 1992-93 and used to frequently travel on this route, since my family was in Delhi, due to the children’s’ education. I was not entitled to SF accommodation, so my family stayed in Vasantkunj in a flat belonging to Chinu Mohanty. It was lying vacant so I requested him to let us stay for a nominal rent. He agreed and we stayed there for almost two years. A recent development that I find very disturbing is the increasing influence of politics in our lives. My father was not a politician, but he had a large number of friends and acquaintances who were. This was perhaps inevitable, since he took active part in the freedom movement and even spent some time in jail during the Quit India movement in 1942. After he joined the Police 1948, he did not take active part in politics. But his interest in the subject never waned. Politicians of all hues were frequent visitors to our house. Even after retirement, he was a regular visitor to the Coffee House or Benbows in Hazratganj, where he met his friends, many of whom were deeply into politics. During my leave, I often accompanied him on these trips and listened to their discussions concerning the developments in Delhi and Lucknow. But this did not affect his close ties with his friends and acquaintances. Today, the situation is totally different. There are divisions within families depending on political leanings of different members. Unfortunately, even the Armed Forces have been affected by this malaise. There is no closer bond than that between course mates in NDA and IMA. Sadly, these bonds are no longer as strong as they were. There are even instances of friendships being broken. This has affected the ladies and children too. It leaves one saddened. There is little one can do but lament at this development. Another remarkable change is the knowledge and awareness of children today. When we were young, we were not allowed to touch the radio, which was the only electronic gadget in the house. There was no TV, mobile phones, or computers. Today, kids know much more about these things than we do. In fact most people of our age have to ask our grandchildren to help us with these devices. How did this happen? Surely it is not due to better education in schools or enhanced IQ levels. I thinks social media has played a big part in this phenomenon. In our time, we had to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica to find out answers to many questions. Today, Google and Wikipedia provides the answers in an instant. Another new animal that has entered the cattle pen is AI (Artificial Intelligence). It can do anything and might soon control human beings, something we thought only God can do. I have still not been able to grasp how it operates. To tell the truth I feel it is better to remain ignorant of this monster, than delve into the intricacies of its behaviour. This is my 19th newsletter. Those who wish to read the previous newsletters can do so by logging in to my blog veekaysnewsletter.blogspot.com. My second blog that contains chapters from my books and articles on military history is http://veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/. The third blog that has most of my articles is veekaysarticles.blogspot.com/. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Vinay and Kumud Singh Tele: 0124-4074077 Mob: 9873494521, 9899110913 25th December 2025