Attorney General sticks to opinion on Army Chief's age

Army Chief Gen VK Singh may have to retire in June next year as Attorney General GE Vahanvati is understood to have firmly said that his plea for treating his date of birth as May 10, 1951 cannot be countenanced.

Rejecting the opinions of two former Chief Justices of India -- JS Varma and GB Patnaik, the attorney general said their views were not based on facts and that the government should stick to the date of birth given by Singh to UPSC.

The country's top law officer is understood to have said that the May 10, 1950 marks the entry of Gen Singh into National Defence Academy and that alone should be taken into account.

Vahanvati was responding to a second request by the defence ministry on the age controversy.

The law ministry is believed to have forwarded the AG's opinion to the defence ministry.

In a span of one month, the defence ministry had for the second time sought the opinion of the law ministry on the issue of the date of birth of Army chief Gen VK Singh.

The adjutant general's branch of the Army had sought the opinion of the two ex-chief justices after the attorney general in his earlier given his view that the May 10, 1950 date cannot be altered as it would lead to serious legal disputes.

The first opinion given by a joint secretary rank officer of the law ministry officer posted at defence ministry in February this year had said that Gen Singh's date of birth be treated as May 10, 1951.