Indian army chief drops court case on retirement age

Feb 10, 2012, 13:05 GMT

New Delhi - India's army chief on Friday withdrew a petition to review his retirement age after the Supreme Court said it would not entertain his plea, media reports said.

General VK Singh had petitioned the court contending that his birth records prove he was born in 1951, and was therefore not due to retire until April 2013.

The court said it found no 'error or prejudice' in the defence ministry's stand that argued that records in its possession showed that he was born a year earlier and so was to retire this year at age 62, broadcaster NDTV reported.

The controversy over Singh's retirement arose after it was revealed that army records held both dates.

The Supreme Court judges said in 2008 when Singh was up for a promotion, Singh had accepted the government records that mark 1950 as his year of birth.

'You accepted it. It is a matter of record. Then you became army chief,' the judges said, according to the NDTV.

The court warned that it would dump the petition if Singh did not withdraw it. General Singh's lawyer, Puneet Bali later told reporters that the petition was withdrawn and the matter had been 'gracefully resolved.'

Singh became army chief in 2010, commanding the world's second largest army, with 1.13 million members. It was the first time that a serving chief of the Indian military had invoked the country's highest court against the government.