The Delhi Police Special Cell registered a First Information Report after a pre-print PDF file of the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Mukund Naravane’s unpublished memoir called Four Stars of Destiny was leaked. The approach comes after the manuscript which remains in the process of being submitted for a mandatory clearance from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) — reportedly made its way onto social media outlets and e-newsfeeds.
The Delhi Police admitted to have detected the leak, in a statement issued today. A type set book’s PDF copy, apparently from M/s Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd, appeared on some websites. “There are even some online marketing services that showed the completed book cover to be available for purchase,” the spokesperson said.
Political Storm in Parliament
The leak has sparked a huge political spat amid the continuing Budget Session. Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi showed a claimed copy of the book in the Parliament complex recently, calling the government a “scared” party over it. Gandhi said the memoir offers a candid description of the 2020 India-China military showdown in eastern Ladakh and the Agnipath recruitment scheme, saying the Prime Minister’s Office had “abandoned” the military leadership amid the crisis. The government, however, has been uncompromising:
The Lok Sabha heard from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that the book “has never been published” and quoting from unapproved manuscripts is against the national interest. Speaker Om Birla denied excerpts from the previous lecture or books from being read into the record, leading to protests in which eight Opposition MPs were suspended.
Legal and Security Implications
The probe that has now been handed to the elite Special Cell will focus on finding the source of the PDF leaking and determining whether any provisions of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) or copyright laws were broken. Gen Naravane, a retired high-ranking military officer, faces stringent “cooling-off” regulations and needs to be specifically cleared by the MoD before any publication relating to sensitive national security matters. Though the publisher, Penguin Random House India, had planned for the 2024 release of the book, it is currently in limbo pending government approval.
