SC's posers to government on Army Chief's age
Giving the government a week's time and posting the matter for further hearing on February 10, the court said there were other remedies available for Gen Singh if the government withdraws its December 30 order.
Posing
questions
to
the
government,
a
Bench
comprising
Justices
RM
Lodha
and
HL
Gokhale
said
in
that
case
Gen
Singh's
statutory
complaint
against
July
21
order
can
be
reconsidered
by
the
authorities
and
there
was
also
an
option
for
him
to
approach
the
Armed
Forces
Tribunal
or
the
High
Court.
However,
later
the
Bench
observed
that
approaching
the
Tribunal
would
not
be
the
best
option
as
only
four
months
are
left
for
him
to
retire.
It also said that though the tribunal is headed by a retired judge of the apex court, there are also members who come from the services and there is a possibility that they could either be junior or senior to Gen Singh at some point of time.
The apex court felt that the December 30, 2011 order rejecting Gen Singh's statutory complaint for treating his age as May 10, 1951 was "vitiated" as the decision taken by the authority was in consultation with opinion of the Attorney General on whose opinion also the first order was passed on July 21 last year.
PTI