An Army colonel was caught with the wife of his immediate subordinate by the military police in Bathinda when the junior officer had gone out of town to play golf.

Indian forces have zero tolerance for officers who have extramarital affairs with other personnel's spouse and are invariably charged with "stealing the affections of a fellow officer's wife", a euphemism for adultery.

The case has come up in the 10 Corps headquarters in the Punjab city after which the Army ordered a court of inquiry where the colonel has been attached.

If found guilty he faces court martial as the force has become very tough in dealing with such matters, sources told Mail Today.

"The incident happened when a lieutenant colonel, who is a national-level golfer, had gone to play in Chandigarh for two days and, in his absence, the colonel went to his official residence in Nilgiri Enclave at Bathinda military station," the sources said.

Soon after, a senior officer at the base was informed about the issue and he ordered the military police to carry out a search at the house to catch the colonel. "When the military police officials reached the house at around 3am, the colonel was found there in an objectionable position," sources said.

They added that the information about the presence of the colonel in his house was given to superiors by the lieutenant colonel.

The officer has now been attached to an artillery brigade where he would face a general court martial for the charge of stealing the affection of a brother officer's wife and conduct unbecoming of an officer, the sources said.

The artillery brigade is part of the 10 Corps whose primary job is to secure parts of Punjab and Rajasthan in case of a war with Pakistan.

As the case would require the presence of the lieutenant colonel's wife, the court of inquiry headed by Brigadier JS Goraya of the 10 Corps artillery brigade would also include a lady officer from the 16 Infantry Division.

According to sources, the court of inquiry has been asked to submit a detailed report by November 6 as the force now wants to move swiftly while dealing with such cases.

Sources said the colonel and the lieutenant colonel are both posted in the Military Engineering Services in 10 Corps zone.

The colonel holds the post of additional chief engineer.

The Bathinda military station has witnessed a number of human resource related issues recently as there were reports in June of a case where the wife of a lieutenant colonel was allegedly slapped by a senior officer's spouse for not attending the meetings of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).

It emerged last month that the Army sacked a lieutenant colonel for having an affair with the 19-year old daughter of a fellow officer.

A senior officer is facing court martial for allegedly harassing a lady officer.

Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat has taken a tough stand on such issues and has made it clear to the commanders and other senior officers that no mercy should be shown in cases of "moral turpitude" and "financial corruption".

The Army is also very clear that such affairs cannot be allowed even if there is mutual consent as they adversely affect the moral fabric of the force.