Crucial Hearing On Army Chief Age Row In SC On Friday

New Delhi, Feb 9: The crucial hearing on age row of Army Chief General V K Singh will be taken up tomorrow in the Supreme Court where the Centre will spell out its stand whether it was withdrawing or not its order rejecting his statutory complaint. The apex court on February 3 had given an option to the government to “withdraw” its December 30, 2011 order rejecting his statutory complaint, saying it “appears to be vitiated”. “Be clear whether you want to withdraw this December 30 order, or we quash the order,” the court had said prompting Attorney General G E Vahanvati to say he would take instructions from the government. The apex court felt that the December 30, 2011 order rejecting Gen Singh's statutory complaint for treating his age as May 10, 1951 was “vitiated” as the decision taken by the authority was in consultation with opinion of the Attorney General on whose opinion also the first order was passed on July 21 last year. Challenging the government's decision to determine May 10, 1950, as his date of birth and not May 10, 1951, Gen Singh, in a 68-page petition, has maintained that his acceptance of 1950 as the year of his birth was given in good faith at the behest of the then chief of Army Staff and not due to agreement with the conclusion of the Military Secretary's Branch.