NEW DELHI: India's army chief has filed a lawsuit against the government in the Indian Supreme Court asking for his birthday to be changed on official records to prevent him being forced into retirement.
In the petition filed on Monday seen by AFP, General VK Singh asked the Indian Supreme Court to recognise his birthday as May 10, 1951, making him one year younger than his age shown on government records which state his date of birth as May 10, 1950.
Indian government employees have to retire at 62, which means Singh would leave service in May this year unless he wins his case in the Indian court.
The petition by the highly-decorated veteran of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan is the first such case in India of a serving army chief taking the government to court.
Calling the decision "a matter of honour and not tenure," Singh pressed the court to accept the date recorded in his school-leaving certificate as his correct date of birth.
The defence ministry has previously rejected Singh's claim twice, citing the date marked on his documents when he entered into public service.
Calls to the defence ministry went unanswered on Tuesday morning.
A source close to the case told AFP the general, army chief since March 2010, felt that the controversy had tarnished his public image, leaving him with little choice but to approach the court.
The unprecedented development has raised questions about the appropriateness of Singh's actions.
His predecessor, General Deepak Kapoor, told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that "an army chief going to court on personal matters is not good for the force or the nation as a whole."
But other retired officers said Singh had every right to take legal action. Former air force chief PV Naik told PTI: "I think it is a personal issue and he should do whatever he thinks is right."
COMMENTS (10)
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The question is not of the Army Chief birth day alone. He is one of the employee of government at very higher position . But the government decision need to be followed for all employee from lowest level to highest level. Country can not give any preferential treatment to any government employee because of his rank and position. Country need to consider this issue carefully and calmly without bringing in it liking or disliking by any person , political party or organization. We should allow SC to work on this calmly and accept the ruling. It is not Honour or dishonour of any body. Country is biggest of all of us.
Nativist D.D.Raut, President, Native People's Party
Our Message to Nation : Janeu Chodo Bharat Jodo
@Malatesh: Would Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan resign because their ministers are tainted? When some people of such low standards (alas for Manmohan a former statesman now forced into being a politician) run the government, Mr. Singh, a veteran and well respected soldier of the nation has every right to claim for what he is claiming. That is the way Indian army deals with issues, by law and not coup as in other countries...
This is ridiculous. The IAS bureaucrats have a deep dislike for General Singh because he ordered the court-martial of a Lt-Gen who was complicit in selling defence land to a private party. The form in question which records the 1950 birthdate was filled for him by an elder when he was still a minor in high-school and applying for admission to the NDA. The defence ministry's own records have both dates in different databases.
Since then, over the past 20+ years Gen Singh has made numerous requests to bureaucrats in the Defence Ministry to correct the record. But the babudom is far too intransigent. I certainly hope the SC chastises the Incompetent Administrative Service.
If he took promotions based on records showing his dob to be 1950, then he should quit and move on. One date for promotion and one for retirement? But then again it's his personal choice and he knows best
Unbelievable! If it works, India will attract millions of women from all over the world who want to have the birthday records changed.
@John B: Apparently he tried to correct the DOB many times in the past but was not allowed to by the defense ministry. Anyway, as a citizen, not as an army man, he has the right to approach the court on a personal matter.
@All above Please be sure of all assumptions and facts of the case before commenting. The only time the earlier (1950) DOB appears in this saga is on an application which was filled in for him. Of course, he can be faulted for not checking what was being submitted on his behalf. Every other document, including his matriculation certificate which the Supreme Court has assigned as the document to go by in other cases, has his later DOB (1951). Why this drama then? Because there is a lot of politics involved in nominating who gets to be the next COS.
He has to explain why he gave false information about DOB at the time of joining public service. Its better for VK Sing to resign immediately.
As the Former air force chief PV Naik says, it's a personal issue and he should do whatever he thinks is right.
And he saw his birth date only now after all these years? Surely, the issue might have come up during many times on various occasions several years earlier.