Former Army Chief General VK Singh (file pic)
The Supreme Court today dropped a contempt case against former army chief General VK Singh after he offered an "unqualified apology" for his remarks following the top court's verdict in the age row with the Centre.
"If an apology is coming from the heart, contempt proceedings should not continue even for a second," the Supreme Court said.
Earlier this week, General Singh had withdrawn all statements made by him on the judiciary.
"To attribute unworthy or illegitimate motives to the judges who dealt with my withdrawn petition on February 10, 2012 was far from my mind. I hold them in high respect and I hereby tender an unqualified apology if unwittingly, due to erroneous reporting of my words, I have created an impression of making some objectionable imputation," General Singh had said in his reply on November 16.
The 63-year-old former army officer had allegedly questioned the Supreme Court's handling of his case against the government over his age.
If he had won the case, he would have been eligible for another year in office. But he dropped his lawsuit in January after the Supreme Court indicated it was likely to rule against him.
The top court in October issued notice to him, saying it amounted to "scandalising" and undermining the authority of the court.