K A JOSEPH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has been fighting for correction of date of birth in school records and service records since long. He had been to this court on an earlier occasion. Ext. P8 is the judgment in O. P. 32283 of 1999. His application for correction of Date of Birth in the service record was rejected on the ground that it was beyond the time limit provided for in G. O. (P) No. 45/91/p&ard dated 30-12-1991. It was contended that Ext. P8 marked therein was an application for correction of date of birth in the service book, submitted within the period of limitation provided for in the said G. O. Accordingly, it was directed to be considered as if an application filed in time. Now in compliance of the direction, Ext. P9 order has been issued. THE government examined Ext. P8 made mention of in Ext. P8 judgment herein. That ext. P8 is Ext. P5 marked in this original petition. THE last 2 paragraphs of the said representation are as follows : "now it has come to understand that orders of the government, condoning the delay to present application within 15 years from the date of leaving School is wanting. I left the School in 1962. Due the unawareness of the procedure, I could not submit the application within 15 years.

(2.) I request to kindly examine my case and initiate early steps to issue orders condoning the delay in presenting the application within the prescribed period. It is relevant that what the petitioner sought for in that representation was to condone the delay in filing an application for correction of date of birth in school records. It was not an application for correction of date of birth in service records, though it was directed to be considered in Ext. P8, on the representation of the petitioner to that effect. Now the Government have examined the matter and found that the application was for condonation of delay in applying for correction of date of birth in school records. That means, there is no application for correction of date of birth in service book within the time stipulated in the G. O. mentioned above. Naturally, the petitioner cannot seek an order for correction of service records. Correction of date of birth entered in the service record is permissible only if there is any order in that regard. The order in that regard is the government order mentioned above, which is produced as Ext. P11 herein. That order contains a procedure which includes a period of limitation. Even now, the petitioner has not produced any evidence to prove that he has made an application for correction of date of birth in service records within the period of limitation made mention of in Ext. P11. In such situation, the order passed in Ext. P9 does not require any interference at all. In a very recent decision rendered by Supreme Court on 2-11-2000 in General Manager, Bharat coking Coal Ltd. , West Bengal v. Shibu Kumar Dushad, C. A. No. 6142 of 2000, (reported in 2001 Lab IC 28 : AIR 2001 SC 72) reported in Supreme Court case law com in its November link, it was held as follows (Para 15) : "in a case where the controversy of date of birth of an employee has been raised, long after joining the service and the matter has engaged the attention of the authority concerned and has been determined following the procedure prescribed under the service rules or general instructions issued by the employer and it is not the case of the employee that there has been any arithmetical mistake or typographical error patent in the face of the record, the High Court, in exercise of its extra-ordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution should not interfere with the decision of the employer".