A soldier has won his High Court action to prevent his discharge from the Army after testing positive for drugs.
Pte John White claimed the positive test was due to his having eaten a pizza which, unknown to him, had been "spiked" with cannabis resin by a friend as a prank.
Pte White (30), a divorced father of two attached to the 28th Infantry Battalion, had argued that the Defence Forces failed to properly apply provisions and instructions in relation to random drug-testing, and acted unfairly and disproportionately in recommending his discharge.
He also claimed that they failed to consider the circumstances of the matter or to apply the presumption of innocence. The Minister for Defence had denied the claims.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill yesterday upheld Pte White's challenge. He was satisfied that fair procedures had not been followed and the decision to discharge was "fundamentally flawed".
The court had heard that Pte White, who enlisted in 2001, tested positive for cannabis following a random drug test at Finner Camp, Co Donegal, on October 6th 2005. Pte White said he was "astonished" by this.
When second test results also returned positive, he made a statement to his commanding officer stating he had no idea how his sample had tested positive and denied any involvement in drugs or drug taking.
Pte White said that some time later, he was approached by an acquaintance who told him that, as a prank or practical joke, he had put cannabis resin on a pizza which Pte White had eaten.
Pte White said he had given this information to his commanding officer who asked for the names and addresses of anyone involved, and for the matter to be reported to the Garda.
Pte White said he felt unable to make a formal complaint in those circumstances. On November 23rd, 2005, his battalion commander indicated he was recommending that Pte White be discharged from the Defence Forces on the basis he was not prepared to press charges against the acquaintance.
That recommendation, along with all the statements, were forwarded to a senior officer of the Western Command, who made the order that Pte White be discharged.
Mr Justice O'Neill said the decision by Pte White's battalion commander to recommend his discharge was "simply unfathomable," given the explanation that Pte White had eaten cannabis as a result of the actions of another person.
The judge said the Army's disciplinary procedures were wrongly applied in relation to not recommending a discharge on grounds of reasonable doubt, and he ruled the decision to discharge was beyond the provisions of the disciplinary procedures.