(1) When Vijay Kumar Singh, a teenaged Rajput boy from Haryana submitted his innocuous UPSC form for admission to the National Defence Academy in 1966, he could hardly have imagined that it would rock the country four and a half decades later. But that’s exactly what happened.
The boy went on to become the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) commanding India’s 1.13 million-strong Army. On January 15, Gen. V.K. Singh took the drastic step of petitioning the Supreme Court against the Union Government, becoming the first Service chief to do this. The Army chief wants quashing of the Government orders in July and December last year rejecting his contention that he was born May 10, 1951. The Government regards May 10, 1950, as his DoB in official records, as per which he would have to retire on May 31 this year.
(2) The controversy first came to the notice of the Army top brass in2006 when itwas discovered that the General had two dates of birth in his official records. The Adjutant General (AG) Branch — that keeps the personal records of officers — had his DoB May 10, 1951, which reflected the DoB in the matriculation certificate of his school days. The Military Secretary Branch, that deals with postings, on the other hand, had recorded his DoB as May 10, 1950, from his UPSC form for admission to the NDA in 1966.
(3) On Jan. 30, 2008, Gen. V.K. Singh (then Lt. Gen.) told the then Military Secretary Lt. Gen. P.R. Gangadharan that he would accept May 10, 1950 as his DoB, saying, “In view of the above constraint and in accordance with the discussions of date, I will mention the DoB as directed.”
(4) On November 12, 2009, four months before becoming COAS, Gen.Singh told the then Army Chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor, “I have learnt of some misgivings and doubts being raised on my commitment given on my DoB as per your directions. You are well aware that I have not gone back on this commitment. .... I have treated this issue as closed .... I once again reiterate that my commitment to you stands and any doubt or misgivings need to be dispelled.”
(5) The Government went by the advice of Attorney General G. Vahanvati, who held that a review of the official DoB cannot be made after such a written acceptance. Mr. Vahanvati also recommended that May 10, 1950, continue to be the official DoB, since any “amendment” at this stage was “not legally tenable”.
(6) But in his petition, Gen. V.K. Singh said the acceptance of that DoB by him in2008 “was not a free admission” but was made “under an apprehension of some proceeding being initiated against him ...”. The Army Chief has submitted that “he had no option but to comply with the orders and command of his direct superior officer ...”.
(7) The Army HQ, in 2008, maintained that the DoB of May 10, 1950, would be considered as the official one since it figured in the “Army List”. The Army HQ said, “change in DoB in case of officers is not to be entertained after a lapse of two years from the date of commission”.
(8) Gen. Singh has questioned why the issue was raised in 2006 after he had completed 36 years of service. His supporters claim privately that this could have been done to pave the way for the current Eastern Command chief Lt.Gen. Bikram Singh to become COAS in 2012. However, both Gen. J.J. Singh and Gen. Deepak Kapoor — the previous two chiefs — are known to have privately known to have rubbished the claim. If Gen. V.K. Singh retires on May 31 this year, Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh is the front- runner to succeed him. But if the General stays on until March 31, 2013, the Northern Command chief Lt. Gen. K.T. Parnaik will take over.
(9) In Sept. 2011, Mr Antony told Parliament, “The date of birth of General V.K. Singh has been maintained as May 10, 1950, at the time of his selection as Corps Commander in 2006 as well as his subsequent promotions as Army Commander in 2008 and COAS in 2010. ...However, a different date of birth finds mention in certain documents.”
(10) While some analysts say the issue has been mishandled by the Government, there are others who contend that Gen. Singh should never have taken such a drastic step while still being COAS since this could seriously damage civil-military relations. Says former Air Chief Fali Major, “I find it quite incredible for a serving Chief to go to Court.” Sources in the Government say they went by the advice of the Attorney General and that it was the Army top brass itself in 2008 that had decided on May 10, 1950, as Gen. Singh’s DoB.