Wait for legal outcome on army chief's age: Antony

 Defence Minister A.K. Antony Friday expressed sadness on the raging row over army chief General V.K. Singh's age, but said it was best to wait for the legal outcome now that the government's decision to fix his year of birth as 1950 had been questioned in the Supreme Court.

"Ours is a democracy. There are constitutional forums to question the decision of the government and now the decision has been questioned," Antony told reporters here on the sidelines of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Republic Day camp here. 

"Now the matter is before the highest court of India, the Supreme Court of India. Let us all await the verdict of the Supreme Court. Please, let us avoid unnecessary controversies. Let us wait for the final verdict of the Supreme Court."

He said the government government had maintained "restraint and patience" on the age controversy as such issues cannot be handled in a sensational manner through a public debate.

"Unfortunately, some of you are sensationalising it. This issue is not an issue for celebration. In fact, I feel sorry and sad about the whole controversy. That's why, in spite of sometimes being misunderstood, I was keeping silent. Because I believe that this is not an issue that can be decided on the public platform or on public debate," Antony said when asked to comment on the case filed Monday by Gen. Singh.

Gen Singh, in his petition, challenged the rejection of his statutory complaint by Antony seeking rectification of official records to reflect his date of birth as May 10, 1951, instead of May 10, 1950.

The petition is yet to be taken up by the Supreme Court.