New Delhi:
Two days after the Defence Ministry formally rejected his statutory application seeking correction in his date of birth, Army Chief General VK Singh is working out his future response.
He feels the government has given him a raw deal and therefore he has no option but to fight for his honour.
General Singh is consulting legal experts, including three former Chief Justices of India, and they have strongly supported him. Sources say the Army chief has two options: Either to go to the Armed Forces Tribunal, or move to Supreme Court directly. The Supreme Court is already hearing a Public Interest Litigation over the issue.
Sources also say that General Singh has also not ruled out resigning ahead of his tenure ending on May 31, 2012 - the date which the government has now decided.
Rejecting his statutory plea, the Defence Ministry cited Attorney General's opinion as the reason. On Dec 16, NDTV had reported that the Attorney General is of the opinion that the Army Chief date of birth has to be May 10, 1950.
Different records within the Army show May 10, 1950 and May 10, 1951 as the General's date of birth. General Singh has consistently claimed that he was born in 1951 and not 1950 as maintained by the Ministry of Defence.
In his statutory complaint, he had said that he was seeking to clear the perception that he was lying about his age and not fighting for his tenure, which he maintained, was the government's prerogative.
After the controversy over his age, the Army chief had argued that that the confusion arose from a form which he had filled at the age of 15. The clerk handling his papers for the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) exams listed his age as 16 instead of 15. This was the application form for the National Defence Academy (NDA), which documents the General joining the Army.
All his promotions were, however, decided on the basis of him being born, as he said, in 1951.
In an interesting move, after receiving the formal communication from the Defence Ministry, General Singh went and met Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. What transpired at the meeting is, however, unknown.