We are given that the army contingent has 616 members and the army band has 32 members. Both groups are to march in the same number of columns.
To find the maximum number of columns in which they can march, we need to find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of 616 and 32.
Using Euclid's Division Algorithm:
$616 = 19 \times 32 + 8$
$32 = 4 \times 8 + 0$
Hence, the GCD of 616 and 32 is 8.
Therefore, the maximum number of columns in which they can march is 8.