New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, Army
Chief Gen VK Singh on Monday moved the Supreme Court against the
government's rejection of his claim on his date of birth.
In writ petition, he is believed to have questioned the
government's decision to treat his date of birth as May
10,1950 instead of May 10,1951 as claimed by him on the basis
of his matriculation certificate and other documents.
This is the first time that any Service chief has
dragged the government to the court of law.
The petition has been filed and senior advocate UU
Lalit will represent Gen Singh before the apex court.
In his petition, Gen Singh has said the matter related to
his "honour and integrity" as he headed a force of 13 lakh
personnel.
He questioned why the government had chosen to "change"
his date of birth after he had spent 36 years in service and
promoted throughout the career.
Gen Singh's action caps months of tussle between him and
the Ministry of Defence during which he made two statutory
representations to the Ministry.
Defence Minister AK Antony had recently rejected his
statutory representation which ended all the internal appeal
options on the subject for the General.
By this decision of the government, Gen Singh will have
to retire on May 31.
He has been contending that May 10, 1951 should be
treated as his actual date of birth as it was mentioned in his
matriculation certificate but the Defence Ministry has
rejected it as May 10, 1950 is the date entered in his UPSC
entrance form for National Defence Academy (NDA).
PTI
First Published: Monday, January 16, 2012, 19:04