The Supreme Court did not adjudicate the age controversy brought before it by the Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, but its observations on the service aspect of the matter led to the disposal of the case on Friday when Gen. Singh voluntarily withdrew his plea before the apex court. The Army Chief’s action seems logical.

The bench made it clear that it was not saying anything on the issue of the general’s age, but left little doubt that going by the way the Army kept its records, the government’s version of the Army Chief’s age was valid. The court thus gave enough room to the petitioner to believe that it was not doubting him on the issue of his age. Thus, Gen. Singh’s sense of honour was satisfied and integrity upheld. At the same time the potentially piquant situation of the government losing a case brought by the Army Chief against it was avoided. Seen in this light, the handling of the tricky matter by the top court has led to the protection of institutional gravitas on all sides.
And yet, it may be said that the apex court has confined itself to taking a narrow view. In the course of its observations it could well have questioned the way the Army keeps its records, and dwelt on bureaucratic lethargy that leads to the absurdity of two different branches of the institution maintaining two different versions of a soldier’s age and not reconciling the discrepancy even over a period of three decades although its attention is drawn to the subject regularly. This, indeed, has a bearing on the broad issue of governance. As for Gen. Singh, the best timing for him to pull out might have been on Friday itself right after the government retracted its December 30 order in the course of the Attorney-General’s submission. Through this order the government had dismissed Gen. Singh’s statutory complaint on the age issue. Letting go at this stage would have eloquently made the Chief’s point, as last week the apex court had virtually rebuked the government on its manner of dealing with Gen. Singh’s statutory complaint.
Some needless speculation has come to surround Friday’s developments. There is conjecture whether Gen. Singh would now put in his papers. It would be inadvisable for him to pursue such a course, for resigning before his term ends in May is apt to give an impression of pique, or worse, protest, even when the Supreme Court has closed the contentious issue in question in a manner that detracts from the dignity of neither party. Resigning at this stage, when the Supreme Court has spoken, can adversely affect the prestige of the Army.