Army Chief General VK Singh's Date of Birth Controversy

The Army Chief's date of birth is crucial in deciding when he would retire. 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)

The records with Adjutant General's branch show it to be May 10, 1951 whereas the Military Secretary's branch records it to be May 10, 1950.
If 1950 is accepted as his date of birth then Singh will retire in May 2012, but if 1951 is take as the year he was born, then Singh can serve till May 2013

 

General VK Singh Moves SC on his Date of Birth Row

 

Army Chief General VK Singh on Monday Jan 16,2012 filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court on his date of birth controversy. General Singh has taken the Central Government to the apex court to settle the controversy surrounding his date of birth.has moved the petition in the Supreme Court independently and it is the first time that a serving Army Chief has taken the Government to court. Senior lawyer UU Lalit will represent General Singh in the case.

Govt files caveat in SC on petition by Army chief
Government on Tuesday Jan 17,2012 filed a caveat in the Supreme Court against any ex-parte order on the petition of Army chief Gen VK Singh challenging the  decision over his date of birth.An application was filed by the ministry of defence urging the apex court not to pass any order on Singh's petition without hearing it.

Govt.withdrew order, rejecting statutory complaint on age row

The govt withdrew its Dec 30, 2011 order rejecting  General V K Singh's complaint against fixing his date of birth as May 10, 1950.Attorney General of India Goolam E Vahanvati informed the Supreme Court the government's decision to withdraw its order on Feb 10,2012.
As a result,General Singh gets another has another chance at filing a statutory appeal before the government.
The Supreme Court is hearing a petition from General Singh to maintain his date of birth as May 10, 1951, instead of May 10, 1950, and against the orders of the Defence Ministry rejection of his statutory complaint in this regard.
On February 3 the apex court had criticised the government's handling of the controversy while directing the Attorney General of India to take instructions from the government on the December 30, 2011 order which fixed General Singh's date of birth as May 10, 1950.

The court also questioned General Singh as to why he did not get his date of birth corrected with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) which had recorded it as May 10, 1950.

"If they (UPSC) don't do what do you do," the bench asked senior advocate UU Lalit, who is appearing for General Singh.

Note that all other records such as passport, army identity cardindicate his year of birth as 1951, which is also the year that the Adjutant General, the Army's official record keeper, maintains in his service records.

Army Chief General VK Singh has withdrawn his petition filed in the Supreme Court 

Army Chief General VK Singh has withdrawn his petition filed in the Supreme Court on the controversy over his date of birth on Feb 10,2012. General Singh's counsel UU Lalit told the two-judge bench of Justice RM Lodha and Justice HL Gokhale that they do not wish to press the matter any further in the court.

The petition was withdrawn after Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati told the apex court that the government had never questioned the bonafide or integrity of General Singh and contesting the petition did not reflect any lack of confidence in the Army Chief.

SC:Accept May 10, 1950 as DOB to Army Chief General VK Singh

In a major setback to Army Chief General VK Singh, the Supreme Court, while hearing his petition on the controversy surrounding his age, on Friday directed him to accept May 10, 1950 as his date of birth and asked him to withdraw his plea or else the court would pass an order on it.The two-judge bench of Justice RM Lodha and Justice HL Gokhale said that General Singh had to abide by his commitment and honour his letters of 2008 and 2009 accepting the date of birth as May 10, 1950.The judges questioned General Singh on his petition, asking him why he did not get his date of birth corrected with the UPSC that had recorded it as May 10, 1950. General Singh was also asked what made him fill the Indian Military Academy form mentioning his date of birth as May 10, 1950.The bench pointed out that all documents at threshold when General Singh joined the National Defence Academy and the IMA recorded his date of birth as May 10, 1950, which the Defence Ministry maintains is the official records

While observing that the court respected the "pain in your heart", the two-judge bench of Justice RM Lodha and Justice HL Gokhale asked General Singh not to wash dirty linen in public and added that the government had full faith in him. The court added that no prejudice was done to the Army Chief in the case.

General Singh's date of birth in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) records is May 10, 1950 while he claims that he was born on May 10, 1951, which is also mentioned in his matriculation certificate. The court told the General that the UPSC document was the most relevant document for recognition of age.