R K SEHGAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner had joined the services with the respondent No.3 on 13.9.1960. He produced his Higher Secondary School Certificate, on the basis of which date of birth in his service record was entered as 8.8.1939. After putting 34 years of service, in the year 1994, he made a representation for change of his date of birth from 8.8.1939 to 8.8.1942 on the ground that he had obtained his date of birth certificate from the authorities in Pakistan where he was born before the partition of the country. His request was not acceded to. The petitioner even retired from service in the year 1999. Six years after his retirement, he preferred OA No. 25/2005 seeking directions against the respondents to correct his date of birth from 8.8.1939 to 8.8.1942, which has been dismissed by the learned Tribunal vide impugned judgment dated 5.9.2005. After detailed analysis of the case law on the point, the learned Tribunal has concluded that it is not permissible for the petitioner to seek change of date of birth long after joining the service, as is clear from the following discussion :-

(2.) We are quite in agreement with the view taken by the learned Tribunal. In fact, request of the petitioner made on 10.5.1994 was rejected on 21.8.1997. The petitioner kept quite and even retired from service. He, thereafter, raged up the issue again and his plea was turned down second time vide impugned order dated 3.4.2004 against which he filed the aforesaid OA. He never chose to approach the Court when his request was turned down for the first time vide communication dated 21.8.1997. This would be yet another additional ground to not interfere with the impugned order.

(3.) Learned counsel for the respondent has also referred to the judgment of the Supreme Court pronounced in the case of State of Punjab and Ors. v. S.C. Chadha, (2004) 3 SCC 394. That was also a case where the date of birth was entered on the basis of Higher Secondary School School Certificate. The court rejected the prayer for change of date of birth observing that it was not explained by the concerned employee as to why he did not make any move to get the said certificate corrected at any point of time or on any of the occasion when he sought and obtained employment in 7-8 public institutions. In the instant case also, though the petitioner sought correction in the date of birth on the basis of birth certificate purportedly obtained from the authorities in Pakistan, no attempt was ever made by the petitioner to get the date of birth corrected in his Higher Secondary School Certificate.