Army chief’s date of birth: defence min reopens case

The defence ministry has, for the second time, sought the law ministry’s opinion to finally settle the controversy related to the date of birth of army chief General VK Singh, which will determine when he retires from service.

The defence ministry has, for the second time, sought the law ministry’s opinion to finally settle the controversy related to the date of birth of army chief General VK Singh, which will determine when he retires from service.

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The controversy revolves around two conflicting dates of birth having being mentioned in official dossiers, dated May 10, 1950, and May 10, 1951.

“We have received the file from the defence ministry and it is under re-examination. A final decision will soon be taken,” said a senior law ministry official.

Following a series of investigative stories by HT, which showed that the army chief had tried to reopen his date of birth issue, the defence ministry sought the opinion of the government’s top law officer the Attorney General, GE Vahanvati, who advised against acceptance of any change in the date of birth.