K MOHAMMED Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff in O. S. No. 229 of 1953 on the file of the District Court of Trivandrum, has brought this appeal against the judgment and decree of the learned Second Additional District Judge of that Court, dated 14th September, 1956, dismissing the suit. On the date of the institution of the suit on 10-11-1953, the plaintiff was the Inspector-General of Registration for the State of Travancore- Cochin and he now holds that office in the new State of Kerala. He entered the service of the Travancore State on 15-2-1937 as a Sub-Registrar and his date of birth as then entered in the Service Book was 30-10-1082 M. E. The said entry was made accepting the proof furnished by him as to his date of birth in the form of a certified extract from the Birth Register of the Edapally Vadakkumbhagam Paukuty Cutchery. The Government Order in that behalf, dated 10th September, 1937, was made after an enquiry conducted by the officers of the Registration Department, as some complaints happened to be made to the Head of the Department and to his Highness the Maharaja of Travancore that for the purpose of entering the State Service the plaintiff had given a wrong age. However, after the integration of the States of Travancore and Cochin, it came to the notice of the Government that in the case of several of their officers there were discrepancies between the ages appearing in their Service Books and those occurring in the Admission Registers of the educational institutions where they had their studies. Government, therefore, decided that wherever such discrepancies existed, the dates furnished by the Admission Registers of the educational institutions where the concerned officers had their studies will be treated as the governing dates as to their dates of birth and accordingly issued, under date 18-2-1950, what they called a Press Note, as to how that decision will be implemented. The plaintiff's date of birth as entered in his school Admission Register was 3-6-1077 M. E., and his departmental head, the Director of Registration, therefore, called upon him to explain the discrepancy. He maintained that the date furnished by the Birth Register which the Government of Travancore had accepted and entered in his Service Book was the correct date and that even at the time of the enquiry in 1937, he had explained to the authorities how a wrong date happened to be entered in his School Admission Register. The Government however stuck to their Press Note and ordered that the entry as to the date of birth in the plaintiff's Service Book will be altered as 3-6-1077 M. E. in place of 31-10-1082 M. E., the original entry. This was as per an order dated 16-8-1950 and the plaintiff's attempt to have the matter reconsidered was unsuccessful. This second order was made on 7-12-1950. After waiting for well nigh three years, the plaintiff brought the suit giving rise to this appeal on 10-11-1953 for a declaration that the correct date of his birth was 31-10-1082, M. E. and for a mandatory injunction against the Government to cancel the alteration as to his date of birth effected as per K. Mohammed vs. State of Kerala (04.07.1957 -KERHC) Page 3 of 6 Government's order dated 16-8-1950 and to restore the original entry. On the date of the Press Note and when the alteration was effected, the plaintiff was a District Registrar, but by the time of the institution of the suit he had succeeded to the office of the Inspector-General of Registration.

(2.) The State of Travancore-Cochin was the sole defendant in the suit. The State contended inter alia that the suit was not maintainable, that it was barred by limitation and that the correct date of birth of the plaintiff was 3-6-1077 M. E.

(3.) The lower Court, after an elaborate trial, found that the suit was not maintainable and accordingly non-suited the plaintiff. The learned trial Judge however found that the suit was not barred by limitation and that the plaintiff's date of birth was 31-10-1082 M. E.