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{{short description|1948 corruption case in India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
The '''Jeep scandal''' of 1948 was the first major corruption case in the [[India|Republic of India]].<ref>{{cite news|title=On Your Marks|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263904|newspaper=Outlook|date=1 February 2010|location=India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515162644/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263904|archive-date=15 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[V.K. Krishna Menon]], the Indian High Commissioner to the [[United Kingdom]], ignored protocols and signed a Rs 80 lakh contract for the purchase of army jeeps with a foreign firm.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Republic of Scams: Jeep purchase (1948)|url=http://news.in.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=5140159&page=1|work=MSN|access-date=20 December 2011|first=Dipankar|last=Paul|date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817110619/http://news.in.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=5140159&page=1|archive-date=17 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Purchase==
With the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948]] ongoing, the [[Indian Army]] required more jeeps against the [[Pakistani Army]]. [[V. K. Krishna Menon]], the Indian High Commissioner to Britain, placed an order for 2,000 refurbished Jeeps for the same price of new Jeeps that could be purchased from the [[United States]] or [[Canada]]. He argued that they would be delivered immediately with spare parts. The company assigned to deliver the Jeeps, the little-known Anti-Mistantes, had a capital of only £605. Krishna Menon agreed to pay $172,000, with 65% of the total payment upfront without any inspection certificate. He also agreed that only 10% of the Jeeps would be inspected. The earlier contract stipulated that 65% of the payment would be made upon inspection, 20% on delivery and the rest a month after delivery. Of the 155 Jeeps that arrived, none could be placed into service. The [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Defence Ministry]] refused to accept them, and Anti-Mistantes suspended delivery of the Jeeps. Menon, unable to contact it, entered an agreement with S.C.K. Agencies for 1,007 jeeps, with 68 being delivered monthly and the Indian government to be compensated for its loss from the older contract. Each jeep cost £458.10 while Anti-Mistantes sold a jeep for £300. Menon agreed to change the contract to stipulate that 12 jeeps would be delivered monthly for six months and then 120 jeeps would be delivered monthly. The company, however, supplied only 49 jeeps in two years and refused to compensate the government.<ref>{{cite book |title=India's Foreign Relations, 1947-2007 |author=Ray, Jayanta Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJYCgVkIwAwC&q=krishna+menon+sck+agencies&pg=PT80 |date=3 April 2013|isbn=9781136197147 }}</ref> The payment of the jeeps by [[United Kingdom|Britain]] was part of the British war debt to India dating back to the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Arming Without Aiming: India's Military Modernization |author=Cohen, Stephen P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOGgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |date=2010|isbn=9780815704027 }}</ref>

==Corruption allegations==
Menon bypassed protocol to sign a deal worth Rs. 80 lakh to the foreign firm for the purchase of the jeeps.<ref>{{cite news|title=Media support crusade against corruption|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041851921100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423021518/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041851921100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 April 2011|date=18 April 2011|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|location=India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Scamstory|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?204016|magazine=Outlook|date=13 August 1997|location=India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201071224/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?204016|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Govind Ballabh Pant]], the [[Minister for Home Affairs (India)|Home Minister]] and the Indian government announced on 30 September 1955 that the Jeep scandal case had been closed for judicial inquiry and ignored the suggestion by the Inquiry Committee, led by [[M. A. Ayyangar|Ananthsayanam Ayyangar]].<ref name="Noorani1970">{{Cite book |last=Noorani |first=Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bu1LAAAAMAAJ |title=India's Constitution and Politics |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |year=1970 |series=Jaico books |page=174 |access-date=12 October 2021}}</ref> He declared that "as far as Government was concerned it has made up its mind to close the matter. If the opposition was not satisfied they can make it an election issue". Soon afterward, on 3 February 1956, Menon was inducted into the Nehru cabinet as minister without portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Upadhyay |first=R. |date=30 March 2001 |title=Political Corruption in India: An Analysis |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers3%5Cpaper219.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218042930/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers3/paper219.htm |archive-date=18 December 2010 |access-date=17 November 2011 |website=South Asia Analysis Group }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiatvnews.com/politics/national/worst-political-scandals-of-independent-india-7515.html?page=2|title= Worst political scandals of independent India|date= 3 January 2013|publisher=India TV News|access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> Later, Menon became Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's trusted ally as defence minister. However, there was no evidence to doubt Mr Menon's personal integrity. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Viswanathan |first=S. |title=Media support crusade against corruption |url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041851921100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423021518/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041851921100.htm |archive-date=23 April 2011 |access-date=12 October 2021 |website=hindu.com}}</ref>

[[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s personal secretary, U V Kalyanam, in a newspaper interview,<ref name=NehruManmohanGraft>{{cite news|last1=Rao|first1=G.V.R Subba|title=Nehru, Manmohan to blame for graft|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/nehru-manmohan-to-blame-for-graft/article5897636.ece|access-date=19 November 2015|issue=11 April 2014|work=The Hindu}}</ref> said, "It is pertinent to mention here that Nehru made corrupt colleagues like Krishna Menon, who was involved in the infamous 'jeep scam' while he was the Defence Minister".

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Corruption in India}}

[[Category:Corruption in defence procurement in India]]
[[Category:1948 in India]]
[[Category:Political corruption in India]]
[[Category:Nehru administration]]

Jeep scandal case - Revision history

Bot at 03:42, 29 March 2022