The army chief has lost the battle against the government after the Supreme Court categorically discarded his petition in the age dispute. The chief’s decision to take the government to court over his age turned out to be a huge miscalculation. Especially if we consider the court’s view that the chief should have taken measures to get his age corrected much earlier in his career and not when his retirement was approaching. The court explicitly stated that it did not in the least doubt the army chief’s honour and integrity. It also applauded his 38 years of service to the nation and said it wanted him to complete his term and lead as the chief of the 1,300,000-strong Indian army. But will all this be enough to console the general, who has fought this battle on the grounds of personal honour?
Ketan Pratap, Dhenkanal
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