New Delhi: Army Chief General VK Singh lost the battle over his age as the Supreme Court on Friday said that 1950 will be treated as the Army Chief's year of birth. Following this, General VK Singh withdrew his plea from the Supreme Court after the court decided that 1950 will be treated as his year of birth for all service matters.

The court said that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) records, showing May 10, 1950 as the Army Chief's date of birth, will be taken as the proof of his age.

The Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati told the court that the government had never questioned General Singh's integrity.

In what was going to be a crucial day for both the government and the Army Chief, the government set the ball rolling by withdrawing the order on the statutory complaint of December 30.

This was followed by some searching questions for the Chief's counsel. The court wanted to know why the primary record for General's date of birth with the UPSC was never corrected.

The court also observed that all basic documents when General Singh joined the IMA and the NDA contained the year 1950. The court then observed that recognising 1950 as General Singh's year of birth was not grossly erroneous on part of the government.

Finally the Supreme Court bench told General Singh to abide by his commitment and honour his letters of 2008 and 2009 in which he had accepted his date of birth as 1950 and this was an indication of things to come.

The bench asked whether the Army Chief would like to withdraw his petition or else they would be forced to pass an order. At about 2 pm the Army Chief withdrew his petition, but not before the Attorney General told the Supreme Court that the government had never questioned General Singh's integrity or bonafides.

At the end, 1950 is General VK Singh's year of birth for service records, just as the government had maintained.

The only silver lining for the Chief were some observations from the court, saying, "We respect pain in your heart. Final call is that of government. Don't wash dirty linen in public. We have full faith in you."

The Court also observed that they wanted to ensure that General Singh continues to work as the Army Chief as he has been doing.

The question now is what next. The view is mixed on whether Friday's order has indeed restored the honour and integrity that the Chief was fighting for.

General Singh's lawyer Puneet Bali said that the petition was withdrawn as the Army Chief was fighting for his honour and integrity. Claiming that the petition was not about General Singh's tenure, Bali said that the petition was only about determining the correct date of birth.

"The Government of India and the General sorted out the matter gracefully and amicably. Right from the time the petition was filed in the court, it was a matter of integrity. This petition was not meant for extension of service. We are satisfied with the court's ruling as the honour and integrity (of the General) has been restored. The honour and integrity is restored, and it wasn't meant to be beyond that for us. The matter has been amicably solved and we have withdrawn the matter," said Bali.

Adding that "this is the end of the matter", he said that they don't plan to agitate further on the matter.

The order certainly is a sigh of relief for the government. The question now is whether Army Chief General VK Singh who raised the stakes in the first place will serve his full term till May 30, 2012, or add another twist to the tale.