Defence Ministry seeks BEML chief's explanation on legal notice to ex-Army Chief

New Delhi, June 6 (ANI): The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday categorically denied giving permission to BEML Chairman and Managing Director V.R.S. Natarajan to serve a legal notice for filing a defamation suit against former chief of army staff General (Retired) V.K. Singh.

The ministry has asked Natarajan to explain as to why he had made such a statement to the media.

Natarajan had sent the legal notice through a BEML-appointed lawyer a day after General V K Singh stepped down as the country's 24th chief of army staff.

In the notice, the Bangalore-based defence public sector unit asked General (retired) Singh to apologize for alleged defamatory statements against the company and its products.

An unperturbed General (retired) Singh dismissed any possibility of him apologizing for his remarks about Tatra and Armoured Recovery Vehicles supplied by BEML.

BEML said that when General Singh was in office, he had made "false and motivated" allegations against the company.

"Legal notice has been issued today. If he does not apologize, we may file a defamation suit against Gen V K Singh," BEML chairman and managing director V R S Natarajan had told reporters in Bangalore on June 2. (ANI)