The enthusiasm shown by the Grenadiers Association (Rohtak Chapter) to move the Supreme Court even before the Army Chief did was short-lived with the court saying that date of birth and age are “personal matters” of an individual and not meant to be taken up as public causes in a PIL.

The three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, then noted that General V K Singh himself is now before the Supreme Court and he would “stand on his legs” to fight his case without any aid from public interest litigants.

When the counsel for the association Bhim Singh began to argue on the documentary proof regarding General Singh’s date of birth, the court stopped him, saying “we do not want to hear on facts now”.

“ On facts, the person himself has come with a separate petition... he will argue. That petition will stand on his own legs. If we happen to dismiss this PIL on the question of facts, it will be a travesty of justice for the affected person as he never got the opportunity present his case. It will set a bad precedent,” the court said.

The Army Chief has filed a writ petition invoking the Supreme Court’s extraordinary jurisidiction under Article 32 of the Constitution, asking the court to intervene, call for his entire service records and clarify the year of his birth.

Bhim Singh was cut short by the Chief Justice, who wanted an explanation on how a PIL is maintainable in a “personal cause of action”.

“ Date of births are service matters and they are personal. Only the person aggrieved can come to court. Service matters cannot be brought up in a PIL,” the Chief Justice said.

To this, the advocate pointed that the issue is not personal in the least, and is being debated in “newspapers and coffee shops”.

“ Newspaper headlines do not make PILs. We are only concerned with the rule of law,” Justice A K Patnaik on the bench said.

“ But if the date of birth of Supreme Court judges, bureaucrats and government employees are changed at the will of the government, it will lead to anarchy. In that sense this PIL is definitely in public interest and affects the Rule of Law. Can the government modify or change date of births?” Singh asked.

“ So show us judgments that allows this court to change date of birth at the behest of an association. Can birth be restored in a PIL filed by an association? We can understand the person coming to court for this... the person who is affected can come to court. It is settled law that service matters cannot be entertained in a PIL,” the CJI shot back.