General Singh has taken the Central Government to the apex court to settle the controversy surrounding his date of birth that will also impact the succession plan in the 1.13 million strong Army.
General Singh has moved the petition in the Supreme Court independently and it is the first time that a serving Army Chief has taken the Government to court. Senior lawyer UU Lalit will represent General Singh in the case.
The Army Chief's date of birth is crucial in deciding when he would retire. He has been contending that May 10, 1951 should be treated as his actual date of birth as it was mentioned in his matriculation certificate but the Defence Ministry has rejected it as May 10, 1950 is the date entered in his UPSC entrance form for National Defence Academy (NDA).
The records with Adjutant General's branch show it to be May 10, 1951 whereas the Military Secretary's branch records it to be May 10, 1950.
If 1950 is accepted as his date of birth then Singh will retire in May 2012, but if 1951 is take as the year he was born, then Singh can serve till May 2013.
On Sunday (January 15) General Singh had said that he had "no clue" of any early resolution of the controversy surrounding his date of birth, but insisted that the matter be allowed to rest and not become a public debate.
He had earlier tried to play down his disagreement with the Defence Ministry over the prolonged and messy age row.
The Defence Ministry has twice rejected his statutory complaint for not treating May 10, 1951 as his year of birth as against May 10, 1950.
There were mixed reactions from former defence officers on General Singh moving the Supreme Court to resolve his age row. While former officers supported the General, others said that the issue could have been handled in a better way.
"There is no confrontation. VK Singh has done the right thing. People will feel proud of him," said Brigadier (retired) Mahalingam.
"Both sides should have handled the matter in a mature manner," said former Navy Chief Admiral (retired) Arun Prakash
Air Chief Marshal (retired) SK Kaul said, "The government should have been magnanimous to accommodate the General's viewpoint. It is extremely unfortunate that his matter could not be settle between both of them (government and Army Chief)".
(EKNN)
