The Centre on Monday defended the decision to dismiss constable Tej Bahadur Yadav from the Border Security Force last year, reported The Times of India. In a written reply to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Centre and the BSF said the video in which Yadav had complained about the quality of food served to security personnel “could have led to mutiny among the armed forces”.

Yadav filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, asking for his termination to be revoked. He claimed his colleagues had uploaded the clip on social media.

The Centre said the video was to “malign the image” of the force. The daal (lentil soup) shown in the video “looked watery because it was made in a cooker and without stirring it, daal gets settled at bottom”, said the Centre. “…Moreover, health of troops is also paramount consideration in the force as cardiac arrest problem has risen in the troops in recent times.”

The government said the administration base near the Line of Control in Poonch district, where Yadav was posted, used leftover condiments for four days in January 2017 as fresh supplies were delayed because of snowfall, The Indian Express reported.

The government accused Yadav of instigating others to defame the force. “[The] Petitioner provided this opportunity on a platter to Pakistan to use it as a tool of a propaganda machinery to further make adverse effects on the morale of the rank and file of Indian forces,” the affidavit claimed.

The Border Security Force told the court that 18 of Yadav’s friends on Facebook were either from Pakistan or of Pakistani origin, reported the Hindustan Times. “There are many friends of the petitioner from various countries including Pakistan,” said the force. “Hence social media profiles of the petitioner were checked by the National Investigation Agency. Apart from Pakistan, Yadav had friends from Japan, Canada, Russia, United Arab Emirates, USA and Saudi Arabia.”

The BSF said the matter was of serious concern even though “no proof could be made available in communication/post/chat of the petitioner that have been tracked on Facebook as well on Twitter which could be harming in the national interest”.

Yadav’s counsel, advocate SP Yadav, sought time to respond to the affidavit. The matter will be taken up next on February 27, 2019.

The case

On January 9, 2017, Yadav reportedly shared a series of videos on Facebook in which he described the poor quality of food that troops are served along the border. Yadav had accused senior officers selling the supplies bought for them by the government.

The BSF initiated an inquiry into the case after the videos went viral and pointed out that Yadav had faced disciplinary action in the past for multiple reasons. The Home Ministry too sought a report on the allegations.

After the incident, the BSF asked its commanders to ensure that constables on duty do not carry cellphones.