Defence ministry has rejected army's nominee for appointment to the post of military secretary, who is responsible for posting and promotions of officers in the service.

The army had proposed the name of Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra for taking over as the military secretary after the retirement of Lt Gen G M Nair, who is superannuating on Jan 31, sources said in the national capital.

The army nominee was not accepted by the ministry as Chachra would have had a very short stint in office as he is due for promotion to the rank of army commander in next four to five months, they said.

Chachra has commanded the Bhatinda-based 10 Corps and has recently handed over the command to Lt Gen Sanjeev Anand there.

The officer, who belongs to the Rajput Regiment, is now with the army Headquarters awaiting his next assignment.

The military secretary's branch has come under focus over the controversy related to army chief general V K Singh's age.

The military secretary branch holds his date of birth to be May 10, 1950 whereas the army chief contends that it is May 10, 1951.

The defence ministry has also ruled that May 10, 1950 will only be considered as Singh's date of birth.