ASHLIN MICHAEL Vs. CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Instant appeal is filed by the writ petitioner challenging the judgment of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No. 1194 of 2020 dated 09.03.2020, whereby a learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition holding that there is inordinate delay of more than ten years occasioned by the writ petitioner in approaching the Central Board of Secondary Education, hereinafter called, 'CBSE', seeking correction of date of birth in school records, which delay is not satisfactorily explained even in the writ petition, and therefore the petitioner is not entitled to get the reliefs prayed for.

(2.) Appellant completed the Secondary School of Education from Alphonsa English Medium School, Thamarassery, Kozhikode and passed the examination in the year 2010. According to the appellant, there was an inadvertent mistake on the part of the grandfather of the appellant in furnishing the date of birth of the appellant as 08.03.1994 instead of 08.11.1992, due to mistake in converting the Malayalam Era to English year. The correct date of birth of the appellant as per the birth certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths of Thiruvambadi Grama Panchayat is 08.11.1992. It is the case of the appellant that the appellant had applied for correction of date of birth through school as early as in 2015. As per order No. RO(M)/CORRN/REJECTION/DOB/2015/2429 dated 21.03.2015, the application for correction was rejected by the 1 st respondent. After completing the Higher Secondary Education, appellant joined B.V.Sc. Course and hence, she could not approach the High Court in time. These were the basic facts projected by the appellant in the writ petition.

(3.) In the writ petition, a statement was filed by the CBSE basically contending that the correction of date of birth, name of candidate, father's name, mother's name etc. are governed by the examination bye-laws of the CBSE. The correction in date of birth is governed by clause 69.2 of the bye- law of the CBSE. As far as the certificate issued prior to 2015 are concerned, the amended bye-law 69.3 governs the field for correction of date of birth in certificates of class X/XII examinations - 2015 onwards. The amended bye- law 69.3 was brought in by notification dated 01.02.2018.