PRABHAKARAN NAIR Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The date of birth in the service book of the petitioner was 10-1-1110 M.E. That date was copied from his S.S.L.C. Book. He claims that his actual date of birth is 10-1-1111 M.E., corresponding to 12-12-1935. He had sought correction of the date of birth in the service book pursuant to Ext. P16 Government Order dated 3-11-1975. The District Medical Officer of Health, Ernakulam, in Ext. P2 letter dated 3-4-1976 informed the petitioner that his request for correction of the date of birth in the service book would not be considered unless he obtained necessary correction in the school records. After collecting necessary certificates and other documents, he applied for correction of the date of birth in the school records. Since there was delay in filing the application, Government condoned the delay in filing the application under R.3 of Chapter VI of the Kerala Education Rules in Ext. P3 order dated 5-4-1986.

(2.) Petitioner thereupon submitted an application for correction of the date of birth in the S.S.L.C. Book to the Commissioner for Government Examinations, through the Headmaster of the Valayanchirangara High School on 21-7-1986. That was forwarded along with Ext. P4 dated 22-7-1986. He sent a reminder on 20-2-1987. In Ext. P5 dated 3-3-1987, petitioner was informed that correction of the date of birth in the school records and Secondary School Leaving Certificate was being examined and final orders would be issued in due course. Since there was no reply for a long time, petitioner submitted Ext. P6 application dated 20-11-1987 to the Secretary to Government requesting for correction of the date of birth, in view of the fact that according to the entries in the service records he was due to retire on 25-12-1989 and that the application for correction of the date of birth was to be submitted beyond two years of retirement. He stated specifically, that the S.S.L.C. Book has been forwarded to the Commissioner of Government Examinations and the same will be submitted when it is obtained from the Commissioner of Examinations. All the original certificates have been forwarded to the Commissioner for Government Examinations. He enclosed along with that letter a copy of Ext. P1 birth certificate and a copy of Ext. P5 letter. In Ext. P7 dated 25-11-1987, that request was forwarded to the Government. The Commissioner for Government Examinations passed Ext. P8 order dated 6-2-1988, correcting the date of birth of the petitioner from 10-5-1110 to 26-4-1111 M.E. Petitioner forwarded a copy of Ext. P8 order to the Government in his representation dated 4-3-1988, which was forwarded to the Government in Ext. P9. In Ext. P10 dated 30-6-1988, his controlling officer forwarded the corrected S.S.L.C. Book and Service Book to the Director of Health Services. In Ext. P14 dated 20-10-1988, with specific reference to the petitioner's application dated 14-12-1987, Government informed the petitioner that the question of correction of date of birth in the Service Book of the incumbent can be considered only after getting the date of birth corrected in his S.S.L.C. Book by the Commissioner for Government Examinations. Petitioner was requested to get the entry in the S.S.L.C. Book corrected first and then to approach the Government for correction in Service records. Ext. P15 is an application dated 14-12-1987, which was referred to in Ext. P14. It was thereafter that the Government passed Ext. P11 Order dated 21-11-1989 rejecting the request of the petitioner for correction of date of birth in the Service Book. The reasons stated were, that the application ought to have been filed before two years from the date of retirement as per the entries in the service book, and that the application should have been accompanied by S.S.L.C. Book after correcting the date of birth therein. It was also stated that the petitioner was due to retire On 25-11-1989 and that the application was submitted only on 15-11-1988.

(3.) Petitioner submits that Ext. P11 order is illegal since all the assumptions which are made therein are incorrect. He relies on Ext. P13 judgment in O.P.No.8041 of 1989 in which this court directed, in almost identical circumstances, that the request for correction of the date of birth in the service records should be considered if the application was filed beyond the period of two years; but, the correction of the date of birth in the S.S.L.C. Book was obtained only within the two years' period during the pendency of the application.