Age row: Spurred by SC, General VK Singh withdraws his petition

ET Bureau & Agencies Feb 11, 2012, 04.34AM IST Tags:

Supreme Court| MoD| gen vk singh| Army Chief

NEW DELHI: Army Chief Gen VK Singh has lost his legal battle on the age row. The Supreme Court on Friday said the government decision on his date of birth will apply for his service matters, forcing him to withdraw his petition. A bench comprising justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale told Singh that he cannot resile on his commitment that he would abide by the government decision to treat his date of birth as May 10, 1950, and rejected the contention of "prejudice" and "perversity".

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During the three-hour long proceedings, the apex court applauded his 38 years of service to the nation, saying that it was proud of having a meritorious officer like him and wanted to ensure that he continues to work and lead the 13-lakh strong Army.

The court said that government decision on his age issue will remain and refused to interfere with his service record which maintains his date of birth as May 10, 1950. According to this, he will retire on May 31 this year. The arguments of Singh, who had approached the apex court on January 16 for upholding his "honour and integrity," was a mix of legal points and emotions. He submitted that if the government was willing to accept his date of birth as May 10, 1951, he would resign within 48 hours but that did not cut much ice with the court which said it was "not concerned with determining his age" and his plea was only for recognition of his date of birth.

On its part, the government withdrew its December 30, 2011, order rejecting his statutory complaint, and told the bench it has "full faith and confidence" in the Army chief. Attorneygeneral GE Vahanvati told a bench comprising justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale that the government was not questioning Gen Singh's integrity or bona fide credentials. "What prompted you to raise the issue after becoming the chief of the Army. You yourself had accepted that the issue was closed," the bench said. "Why were you keeping mum all these years and raise it suddenly," asked Justice Lodha adding, raising of the issue at that point of time could have invited disciplinary action. All the vital documents like UPSC record and the Army list contained his date of birth as May 10, 1950, and not May 10, 1951. "UPSC record is vital and fundamental in the sense that all service records are based on it. How can it not be relied on," the bench asked. General Singh's counsel UU Lalit said it was filled up by the clerk and not the petitioner. After noticing the discrepancy, it was conveyed to the commission as the school leaving certificate indicates that the date of birth was May 10, 1951, he said. Lalit said that not just the certificate from the Birla Public School but also the confirmation from Army office said that General Singh's date of birth was May 10, 1951. The bench asked why General Singh was not aware of the Army list when it was published. "The publication of the Army list does not mean its public

New Delhi
General claims court victory Shishir Gupta & Rahul Singh, Hindustan Times New Delhi, February 12, 2012 Email to Author First Published: 00:58 IST(12/2/2012) Last Updated: 00:59 IST(12/2/2012) Share more... Comments Tweet Email print Despite the Supreme Court disposing of as withdrawn his petition on the age row, army chief Gen VK Singh on Saturday claimed victory. Singh said the court had upheld what he had been writing as his age based on May 10, 1951 as date of birth and at the same time stated that the age decided by the government (1950 as date of birth) was for service purposes only. Preparing for a five-day UK tour from Monday, Singh told HT, We stood up for something right and appropriate, according to the well laid out principles of justice. He said the canards spread by vested interests had been laid to rest and at least my honour has been redeemed. Quoting Ernest Hemingway, Singh said: Few men for the right cause brave the disrespect of their fellowmen, censor of their colleagues and ignorance of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields out painfully to change. Singhs UK tour indicates he has no immediate plans, if any, of resigning after losing the age battle in court. The defeat had triggered speculation that he may quit. The army chief caught the UPA leadership by surprise on January 16 when he moved Supreme Court to have his year of birth declared as 1951 as opposed to 1950 determined by the Centre. Top government sources said Singh could still spring a surprise. There is a sense within the government that Singhs successor be named as soon as possible, rather than announcing it two months before his retirement as is customary. He retires on May 31. In the US and UK, new service chiefs are named six to 12 months in advance. It keeps the successor in the decision-making loop and nips all uncertainty about whos next. The government has in the past announced new chiefs before the customary two-month period, said a top bureaucrat.