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Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande will continue to serve in the post till June 30 with the government extending his tenure by one month, in a rare and unusual move that came amid the Lok Sabha polls.
Gen Pande was to retire from service on May 31.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved one-month extension in service of Gen Pande, the defence ministry said.
The extension to Gen Pande came nearly five decades after the then Indira Gandhi-led government extended the tenure of Army Chief Gen G G Bewoor by one year in early 1970s in first such instance.
In view of extension given to Gen Bewoor, the next in line Lt Gen Prem Bhagat, known to be a fine military officer, retired from service without becoming the Army Chief, according to military experts.
“The Appointments Committee of Cabinet on May 26 approved the extension in service of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Manoj C Pande for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation (May 31) that is up to June 30 under Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954,” the defence ministry said.
