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New Delhi, Feb. 2: The army has practically refused to implement last week's order from the defence ministry to change the date of birth of its chief, General V.K. Singh, in its official personnel records.
The unprecedented case, army chief versus the Union of India, is scheduled to come up before a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Friday.
The army chief met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Singh, who was not in uniform, drove to the minister's North Block office in a private car.
In reply to a question later, Mukherjee refused to comment on the meeting. "The matter is in the court," he said.
There are efforts to control the damage that the unparalleled case might cause to the institutional framework of civil-military relations.
The adjutant general's branch of army headquarters is understood to have replied to the defence ministry on Wednesday asking how it could change the date of birth of the army chief from May 10, 1951, to May 10, 1950, in its records, something it has never done by executive fiat.
Last week, six days after Gen. Singh sued the government over his date of birth, the ministry had ordered the change.
The Telegraph had reported that the army is set to defy the order.
In its order forwarded to the adjutant general's branch, the military secretariat and the controller general of defence accounts, the ministry asked all to reflect in their records that Gen. Singh was born on May 10, 1950, and not on May 10, 1951, implying that the chief's tenure ends on May 31 this year.
The ministry's memo, titled "Propriety ' Change of Service Record", emphasised the urgency of its order. It asked the adjutant general to refer to its note of July 21, 2011, "for guidance and strict compliance without any further loss of time and a compliance report be sent to this ministry (defence) at the earliest".
The adjutant general's branch has always reflected May 10, 1951, as the chief's date of birth based on his school-leaving certificate since the time he was commissioned as an officer in 1970. The defence ministry has gone by the records in the military secretariat, which is responsible for promotions and postings, that insists Singh's birth year is 1950.
A source in the army said the adjutant general's branch has pointed out that all documents and records of the chief had been submitted to the ministry.
Depending on the attitude the government takes, the ministry could construe this to be "insubordination" or "defiance" by the adjutant general.
Earlier this week, defence minister A.K. Antony had said that now that the case was with the Supreme Court, he would rely on the decision of the judiciary.
The army chief's case is scheduled to be heard in the apex court Friday by a bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and H.L. Gokhale. Singh is likely to be represented by a legal team comprising Ram Jethmalani, Uday U. Lalit and Puneet Bali.
The army chief has sought a stay on the government's rejection of his statutory complaint and "consequential reliefs".
Singh will be entitled to a 10-month extension of service, should the court accept his plea. He is due to retire on May 31, this year, according to the government.
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