Row over next Army Chief’s age put off for now

The controversy surrounding Lt Gen V K Singh’s date of birth has been delinked...

The controversy surrounding Lt Gen V K Singh’s date of birth has been delinked from clearance of his appointment as the next Chief of Army Staff, with the army saying that the issue would be resolved at a later date.

Sources said the officer’s file has been moved for requisite clearances to the Cabinet Secretary where his date of birth has been mentioned as May 10, 1950, but assurances have been given that the correct date — May 10, 1951 — would be entered into the records at a later date.

The controversy arose after it came to light that the army has two different birth dates of the officer who is slated to take over as the next army chief in its records. The AG branch, the official record keeper of the Army, shows his date of birth as May 10, 1951 while the MS branch, in charge of promotions and postings, shows it as May 10, 1950.

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It is understood that in order to get over the deadlock, the army has moved his year of birth as 1950 for the time being but would change it at a later date after a thorough investigation into the matter.

An inquiry has already been ordered to ascertain the reason for the MS branch not updating its records with the correct birth date. As per the rule book, the records with the AG’s branch are deemed as original and correct.

Earlier, Defence Minister A K Antony had refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding by saying that the issue is an internal matter and will be sorted out “through proper channels” by the army itself.

A high-level inquiry into the matter has already been ordered by Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, who is keen to fix accountability for the mistake and punish any likely “troublemakers”.

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Insiders say that the matter has been apparently raked up by a few senior officers who stand to gain if Singh’s year of birth is taken as 1950. This will ensure that as the next army chief, he will retire one year early by attaining the maximum age of 62 as per the rule book.

This will put the interested lot of Generals for contention to the top army post. In case Singh serves for three years as the army chief, these officers would retire and a fresh lot will be considered for the top appointment.