New Delhi:
The unseemly prospect of the army chief taking the Government to court has opened the door to backroom negotiations.
A possible compromise involves the Government declaring that General VK Singh did not misrepresent his age. In return, the General will agree to retire this year.
The lengthy dispute has been triggered by the fact that the General's year of birth has been documented differently within the Army records. Some say he was born in 1950, others in 1951. The latter date increases his eligibility as head of the Army by another year to 2013, when he would be 62 years old.
"Just nobody...nobody should believe that the General has not spoken the truth," said Law Minister Salman Khurshid, reflecting what many believe is the General's insistence that his personal integrity be upheld in public. On different occasions, the Attorney General of the country has advised the Defence Ministry that the documents that say the Army Chief was born in 1950 over-rule the others.
The dispute over General Singh's age began in 2006 when a bureaucrat noticed two different dates in his records when his name came up from promotion and sought clarification from the Military Secretary's branch which handles promotions. The Military Secretary's branch had the year of birth down as 1950 and thus it replied to the MoD accordingly without bothering to check with the Adjutant General's branch which is the official record keeper for the Army Officers.
Again when his name came up for promotion in 2008, the Army Headquarters asked him to accept 1950 as his official age, giving him 24 hours to do so or else face disciplinary action. The then Army Chief and the Military Secretary said that other people in the queue were also suffering due to the delay in this case. Faced with an ultimatum, the General wrote back the same day to say "Whatever decision is taken in the organisation interest is acceptable to me."
The General's matriculation certificate shows 1951 as his year of birth. The Supreme Court says this record is acceptable as proof of age.
So could this be a way out for the Government to avoid a legal battle?
The Government has insisted that 'rules are rules'. The rules say that Government Servants are allowed to make changes to their dates of birth within two years of joining the service and VK Singh did not do so.
"Nobody in the government will say that the Army chief is not anything but the most outstanding army chief that we could have had, an outstanding officer. But there is something called rules...sometimes rules are unfair," said the Law Minister.
If the government accepts the General's argument that he was born in 1951, but cites rules to prevent an extension in his tenure, both sides may be satisfied. And the government's succession plan for the army will remain intact - General Bikram Singh is tipped to take over in May, this year.
A possible compromise involves the Government declaring that General VK Singh did not misrepresent his age. In return, the General will agree to retire this year.
The lengthy dispute has been triggered by the fact that the General's year of birth has been documented differently within the Army records. Some say he was born in 1950, others in 1951. The latter date increases his eligibility as head of the Army by another year to 2013, when he would be 62 years old.
"Just nobody...nobody should believe that the General has not spoken the truth," said Law Minister Salman Khurshid, reflecting what many believe is the General's insistence that his personal integrity be upheld in public. On different occasions, the Attorney General of the country has advised the Defence Ministry that the documents that say the Army Chief was born in 1950 over-rule the others.
The dispute over General Singh's age began in 2006 when a bureaucrat noticed two different dates in his records when his name came up from promotion and sought clarification from the Military Secretary's branch which handles promotions. The Military Secretary's branch had the year of birth down as 1950 and thus it replied to the MoD accordingly without bothering to check with the Adjutant General's branch which is the official record keeper for the Army Officers.
Again when his name came up for promotion in 2008, the Army Headquarters asked him to accept 1950 as his official age, giving him 24 hours to do so or else face disciplinary action. The then Army Chief and the Military Secretary said that other people in the queue were also suffering due to the delay in this case. Faced with an ultimatum, the General wrote back the same day to say "Whatever decision is taken in the organisation interest is acceptable to me."
The General's matriculation certificate shows 1951 as his year of birth. The Supreme Court says this record is acceptable as proof of age.
So could this be a way out for the Government to avoid a legal battle?
The Government has insisted that 'rules are rules'. The rules say that Government Servants are allowed to make changes to their dates of birth within two years of joining the service and VK Singh did not do so.
"Nobody in the government will say that the Army chief is not anything but the most outstanding army chief that we could have had, an outstanding officer. But there is something called rules...sometimes rules are unfair," said the Law Minister.
If the government accepts the General's argument that he was born in 1951, but cites rules to prevent an extension in his tenure, both sides may be satisfied. And the government's succession plan for the army will remain intact - General Bikram Singh is tipped to take over in May, this year.
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