New Delhi:
Army Chief General VK Singh has suffered a major setback as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rejected his application seeking a correction of his date of birth in the Army records.
The Ministry has cited Attorney General's opinion on the Army Chief's date of birth as the reason for rejecting the statutory complaint. 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.
The biggest implication is that the year of birth determines when the Army chief will retire. According to the Defence Ministry this would be in 2012. If it had accepted General Singh's claim, his tenure would have stretched to 2013.
General Singh has made the issue of his date of birth a matter of honour and not tenure. 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, General Singh 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, 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 MoD, General Singh went and met Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. What transpired at the meeting is however unknown.
The formal rejection also paves the way for General Singh to move the courts, if he wants.
The Ministry has cited Attorney General's opinion on the Army Chief's date of birth as the reason for rejecting the statutory complaint. 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.
The biggest implication is that the year of birth determines when the Army chief will retire. According to the Defence Ministry this would be in 2012. If it had accepted General Singh's claim, his tenure would have stretched to 2013.
General Singh has made the issue of his date of birth a matter of honour and not tenure. 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, General Singh 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, 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 MoD, General Singh went and met Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. What transpired at the meeting is however unknown.
The formal rejection also paves the way for General Singh to move the courts, if he wants.
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