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Army Chief overruled on date of birth, he will retire in 2012.
New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has today ruled against General VK Singh, who heads the Indian Army, on the matter of when he was born. He will retire, as planned, in May 2012.
Different records within the army show May 10, 1950 and May 10, 1951 as the General's date of birth.
The Army Chief has maintained that he was born in 1951, though one official record showed otherwise. Defence Minister AK Antony has opted to go with that record in the Military Secretary's branch.
This is the first time that the age of a military chief has become an issue of national debate and government scrutiny. The Law Ministry and the Attorney General were both consulted. The government's opinion is that General Singh should have corrected his records earlier, if they incorrectly stated his date of birth.
General Singh had argued that that the confusion arose from a form he filled when he was 15 years old. The clerk handling his papers for the UPSC exams listed the teenage Singh 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.
Legal experts have been divided on the issue with at least three retired chief justices saying General Singh had a strong legal case against the government for not accepting his claim of being born in 1951.
Read more at: Army Chief overruled on date of birth, he will retire in 2012
New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has today ruled against General VK Singh, who heads the Indian Army, on the matter of when he was born. He will retire, as planned, in May 2012.
Different records within the army show May 10, 1950 and May 10, 1951 as the General's date of birth.
The Army Chief has maintained that he was born in 1951, though one official record showed otherwise. Defence Minister AK Antony has opted to go with that record in the Military Secretary's branch.
This is the first time that the age of a military chief has become an issue of national debate and government scrutiny. The Law Ministry and the Attorney General were both consulted. The government's opinion is that General Singh should have corrected his records earlier, if they incorrectly stated his date of birth.
General Singh had argued that that the confusion arose from a form he filled when he was 15 years old. The clerk handling his papers for the UPSC exams listed the teenage Singh 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.
Legal experts have been divided on the issue with at least three retired chief justices saying General Singh had a strong legal case against the government for not accepting his claim of being born in 1951.
Read more at: Army Chief overruled on date of birth, he will retire in 2012
