The age controversy involves the army chief moving the Supreme Court after the defence ministry rejected his statutory complaint, requesting a change of his year of birth in official records to 1951 from 1950. The controversy stems from two sets of records with the Adjutant General's and Military Secretary's branches of the Indian Army. Singh, citing birth records, says he was born in 1951 and was not due to retire until March 2013. But records at the defence ministry show he was born in 1950, which means that Singh, who became army chief in March 2010, is due to step down in May this year. He took the unprecedented step of dragging the government to the court after the defence ministry insisted upon treating 1950, as his official year of birth.