Age row: Ministry moves to set record straight

[1]

Days before the Supreme Court hearing on army chief General V.K.Singh’s age petition, the government is learnt to have taken steps to bolster its stand that May 10, 1950, not May 10, 1951, is his correct date of birth.

The defence ministry is said to have written to the adjutant general (AG) — the army’s official record-keeper — that it change General Singh’s year of birth to 1950 to match other records.

The letter was sent a few days ago and the ministry is said to have sought a compliance report from AG.
AG branch records have 1951 as the army chief’s year of birth, while it is 1950 in military secretary branch records.

General Singh maintains 1951, not 1950, is his actual year of birth.

Sources said the ministry had asked the AG branch to reconcile the two dates in July last year too.
Since the correction was not carried out then, the fresh directive, they said.

Even in its first order of July 21 rejecting 1951 as the army chief’s year of birth, the ministry had asked the AG branch to record 1950 as the year.