| New Delhi, Feb. 10: India has an army chief who is twice-born. Year after year, in 1950 and in 1951, Gen. V.K. Singh was born to the same set of parents and the same Gen. V.K. Singh rose to be the army chief. Damned by superlative praise from the Supreme Court, Gen. Singh has lost in the unparalleled case of the army chief versus the Union of India. While the court sought to mollify the general, lavishing praise on him and noting the praise from the government for him, there is a sense of impotent rage among the general's frustrated friends who say he has no option now but to quit. The government's position will remain unchanged — that he was born on May 10, 1950, and, therefore, has to retire on May 31 this year. Gen. Singh will have to give up his contention that he was born a year later. The army chief's lawyer at one point said that he would step down in 48 hours if the government accepted his contention. That was not accepted by the court. The Supreme Court said the date of birth set by the government in his service records must reign supreme. He has to accede to civilian authority. But on his contention that he was born on May 10, 1951 — the date reflected in his passport, identity card and PAN card issued by the same civilian authority — the court found no reason to doubt his honesty. But the honesty was immaterial. "Wise people are those who move with the winds," Justice R.M. Lodha, the senior on the bench that also included Justice H.L. Gokhale, advised the army chief, bringing closure to the general's legal battle. In the government, bureaucrats believe Gen. Singh has been tilting at windmills. He believes he is acting out of conviction in a battle for his honour and integrity. Any time now, Gen. Singh is set to quit office, resign or ask for premature retirement after the Supreme Court today "disposed of his petition as withdrawn", his friends believe. The general has not made his intention public yet. He left for a scheduled visit to the south-western command in Jaipur. On a day the Supreme Courts of the Maldives, Pakistan and India looked set to reshape the texture of relations among state institutions in the sub-continent, it was here in New Delhi that officials, bureaucrats, ministers, politicians and soldiers were glued to television sets following the case of the army chief versus his own government. There was a quiet but barely concealed satisfaction within the government. The usually reticent A.K. Antony's defence ministry was happy with the outcome. "We are happy that the issue has been finally resolved and the controversy has been put to rest," defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said after the Supreme Court order with emphasis added to "finally". Gen. Singh, who was in his office in Army Headquarters during the nearly two-hour hearing in the Supreme Court, left for the scheduled visit to Jaipur shortly afterwards. He is due back in New Delhi tomorrow. But a confidant of the chief admitted that "it is now untenable for him to continue to occupy Army House after challenging the government in court and saying that it was a matter of honour and integrity". "We have a robust machinery," a defence ministry official replied, asked if the government has begun the process of naming Gen. Singh's successor, should he quit early. There is still some confusion in Army Headquarters on the technicalities of the case. Since the government had withdrawn its December 30 order, which rejected Gen. Singh's statutory complaint, an officer wondered what would be its fate now. But there is no confusion in the ministry. Armed with the Supreme Court order it will expect the adjutant-general's branch — the official record-keeper — to abide by its directives. Gen. Singh has to retire on May 31, this year, after all his pleas to reconcile records were quashed. In the event of Gen. Singh's premature departure from office, the government can appoint any of the seven army commanders or the vice-chief of army staff as the chief. If it goes by the seniority principle, the top three lieutenant generals in contention for the office would be western army commander Lt Gen. Shankar Ghosh, central army commander Lt Gen. V.K. Ahluwalia and eastern army commander Lt Gen. Bikram Singh. If Gen. Singh chooses to stay in office till May 31, Lt Gen. Bikram Singh would automatically be the senior-most army commander as the others would have retired on reaching the age of 60 years by then. The government could also force the hand of Gen. Singh with whom the trust deficit is now public. Usually, the government announces the name of the chief-designate two months before the retirement of the incumbent. An earlier announcement could make it difficult for Gen. Singh to demit office at a time of his own choosing because he could be asked to continue as a caretaker, effectively a lame-duck, chief. | 
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