Govt considering options on Army Chief's SC move

Embarrassed by the unprecedented action of Army Chief General VK Singh in moving the Supreme Court over the issue of his age, the government was tonight finalising its strategy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh consulting senior ministers.

The government took the expected step of filing a caveat in the Supreme Court requesting to be heard before passing any order on the writ petition filed by General Singh yesterday challenging the Defence Ministry's decision not to accept his position that he was born in 1951.

Defence Minister AK Antony and Law Minister Salman Khurshid held a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the pros and cons of the Army Chief's action. There was no official word on what the government's strategy would be.

However, there was speculation that General Singh may be asked to proceed on leave pending the apex court's view on his petition. But there was no confirmation of such a course from the Ministry of Defence.