Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court refused to entertain his petition seeking alteration of his date of birth from May 10, 1950 to May 10, 1951 and asked him to withdraw his plea against Centre, Army Chief General VK Singh on Thursday said he was happy with the way the matter was handled.
Gen Singh, who is on a four-day visit to the UK to strengthen bilateral military ties, said, “I am happy with the way things were dealt with and that if there was any controversy, it is behind us now.”
This was his first reaction ever since the apex court passed its verdict on the age row and asked Gen Singh to plan for life after his scheduled retirement on May 31 this year.
The losing warrior retreated from the legal battlefield with some consolation as the government said it did not grudge his unprecedented action to move the apex court on the age controversy.
The apex court acknowledged Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati's statement, "The Union government had never questioned Gen Singh's integrity or bona fides but contested his petition as a matter of principle, which did not cast any reflection on his ability to lead the Army."
Upon his arrival in the United Kingdom, Gen Singh was received by British Chief of General Staff General Sir Peter Wall and he reviewed the Guard of Honour.
During the visit, Singh will tour training establishments and witness a defence exercise. He will hold discussions with senior military leaders about ways to strengthen defence ties.
Singh will also call on the British Secretary of Defence and discuss the ways of extending the existing cooperation between the defence forces of the two sides.
He will visit the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, which was the cradle of Indian army's leadership in the pre-independence era.
The Army Chief will also interact with the famous Special Forces of Britain during the visit.
Gen Singh's official visit will end on February 17, but he will be there for next two days on leave and return India on February 20.
First Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 17:12