Army chief age row: Government wants records reconciled

New Delhi: With less than a week to go before Army chief VK Singh's petition on the row over his age comes up in the Supreme Court, sources have told NDTV that the Ministry of Defence has written a letter to the Adjutant's General's branch asking for an amendment in records for the Army Chief's year of birth.

According to the records of the Adjutant's General - the official record keeper for the Indian Army - General Singh's year of birth is 1951. The government wants it reconciled to 1950.

When the petition comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court on February 3, the government is likely to argue that according to its records General Singh was born in 1950 and not 1951, thereby avoiding the entire controversy of two different year of births existing on its record.

General Singh had taken the battle with the government over his age to court on January 16 - becoming the first serving military chief to do so - in the hope of establishing that he is correct in claiming that he was born in 1951, not 1950. Documents with the Army reflect both dates.

In a petition filed in the Supreme Court, he has asked for an explanation of why his claim that he was born in 1951 and not 1950 has been rejected by the Ministry of Defence.

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The government says that documents that list the date of birth as 1950 trump the others. It also says that many promotions granted to General Singh used 1950 to establish his seniority. Going by 1950 as the year of birth means the General has to retire at the end of May; accepting 1951 as his birth date would qualify him for another year in office, though he has said in his petition that it is the government's prerogative to determine his tenure.

The Army Chief had met with Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju who had publicly criticised him for setting an "unhealthy precedent" by taking his dispute to court. Defence Minister AK Antony had said he is "sorry and sad" about the government's dispute with the Army Chief about how old he really is.

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