The court, passing no judgement on the merits of the case, did say it was a service matter pertaining to an individual and an application made by an organisation, which is not a party to the case is not admissible.
The Army Chief has already approached the apex court sparking off a confrontation between the General and the government over the controversy surrounding his two sets of dates of birth in the records.
Breaking his silence on the controversy, Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday chose no strong words, saying just that he was "sorry and sad" over the affair.
He said that his ministry had acted with restraint and patience that an issue of this nature needed. He added that it was now up to the Supreme Court to decide on the matter.
This was Antony's first exhaustive statement on the issue, after charges of being slow and bureaucratic in solving the crisis have been levelled against him.
Even as both sides now look towards the Supreme Court for their future course of action, the Army Chief's legal team would be looking very closely at the court's reprimand to the ex-servicemen association for attaching opinions of four former chief justices of India.
The four former chief justices of India had reportedly backed the General's contention that his date of birth should be taken as May 10, 1951, an not May 10, 1950 as the government has been arguing.
The Supreme Court has also barred its registry from taking in any case where opinions of the former CJIs are attached.
Meanwhile, government sources claimed on Friday that no compromise had been worked out with the Army Chief and that there was no move to appoint General Singh as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
What is the controversy and its likely implications:
General Singh, a para-commando and veteran of the 1971 Indo-Pak War, has been contending that May 10, 1951 should be treated as his actual date of birth as it was mentioned in his matriculation certificate but the Defence Ministry has rejected it as May 10, 1950 is the date entered in his UPSC form for the NDA.
While the Army's official record keeper, the Adjutant General Branch, maintains General Singh's date of birth as May 10, 1951; the Military Secretary Branch records show May 10, 1950 as his birthday, leading to the controversy.
If General Singh's date of birth is taken as May 10, 1951 then he will retire in March 2013 and if May 10, 1950 is accepted then his tenure will come to an end in May 2012. The difference of one year will have an affect on who will succeed him as the next Army Chief.
If he retires on May 31, 2012 then Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Bikram Singh will take over as the next Army Chief, but if he demits office in March 2013 then Northern Army commander Lieutenant General KT Parnaik could take over from him as Lt Gen Bikram Singh will retire later in 2012.
But if General Singh is removed or resigns before May 31, 2012, then Western Command Chief Lieutenant General Shankar Ghosh, who is the senior most serving officer in the Army, will take on as the 27th Chief of the Indian Army.
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