Army Chief takes age row to top court
In a dramatic development which sent shockwaves through the government’s top echelons, Chief of Army Staff Gen. V.K. Singh dragged the government to the Supreme Court over his date of birth controversy on Monday, just a day after he hosted top UPA leaders — including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi — at his residence on Army Day.
The Army Chief wants May 10, 1951 to be acknowledged by the government as his date of birth, and not May 10, 1950. This is the first time a service chief has taken the government to court. It remains to be seen if the government will regard this as an act as insubordination and sack him. Till late Monday, neither the government nor the Army had reacted officially, but sources said defence minister A.K. Antony was talking to senior government colleagues throughout Monday evening to decide the next course of action.
Just a few days after declaring that the issue involved his “honour and integrity”, the Army Chief, in his petition, is understood to have questioned the government’s decision to regard May 10, 1950 as his date of birth. The Army Chief’s petition was filed by senior advocate Uday Lalit in the Supreme Court, sources confirmed, and could come up for hearing on January 20.
The government had on December 30, 2011 rejected Gen. Singh’s “statutory complaint”, thereby again rejecting the general’s contention that he was born on May 10, 1951. Gen. Singh is understood to have questioned why the government chose to “change” his date of birth (in 2006) after he spent 36 years in service. The Chief has insisted the matter was a “personal” one, and that he has always acted in the organisation’s interest.
The government decision meant that Gen. Singh would retire on May 31, 2012, on reaching the age of 62 in his official records, thereby dashing his hopes of serving till May 31, 2013.
Gen. Singh’s school certificate mentions his DoB as May 10, 1951, which is recorded in the Army’s adjutant general branch. However, his UPSC form for admission to the NDA way back in the 1960s mentions his DoB as May 10, 1950, which is recorded in the military secretary branch.
The COAS knew time was running out for him since the name of the new Chief would be announced by the government about two months before the retirement of the incumbent. Speculation was rife he would act immediately after the Army Day celebrations.
At Sunday’s Army Day reception, Gen. Singh was seen locked in lengthy conversations with both the Prime Minister and defence minister A.K. Antony, when perhaps the government sensed the Chief would drag it to the Supreme Court.
Just last week, in response to a question from the media, Gen. Singh indicated he had not ruled out the option of resigning before his tenure ended, saying: “Please leave it to my judgment. I may decide on some course of action. I have to find time to think it (DoB issue) out.” But events show that the COAS quickly bit the bullet.
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