STATE OF KERALA Vs. K ULAHANNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State Government, the Director of Public Instruction, Trivandrum and the Assistant Educational Officer, Changanacherry, have filed this appeal against the judgment of a learned Judge allowing O.P.No. 2757 of 1977 and directing that the entry as to the date of birth in the writ petitioner's service register is liable to be corrected on the basis of the corrections made in the school records, and declaring that the petitioner is liable to retire only on 27-10-1977. The 1st respondent was directed to pass appropriate orders on the basis of the entries in the School records of the petitioner as corrected by the Commissioner for Government Examinations by Ext. P1 order.

(2.) The writ petitioner's date of birth as entered in the service register was 15-10-1096 M. E.-27-4-1921. That would place his date of retirement on superannuation as 26-4-1976. He applied on 1-1-1974 (not produced) to the Deputy Commissioner for Examinations for correction of his date of birth as shown in the school records as 11-3-1098 M. E./27-10-1922. By Ext. P6 dated 30-4-1974 the Deputy Commissioner directed the petitioner to make the application before the appropriate authority who was the Commissioner for Examinations. This was done, and Ext. P7 dated 18-7-1974 is a copy of the application before the Commissioner. The correction prayed for was allowed by order of the Commissioner dated 15-11-1974 of which Ext. P1 is a copy, Ext. P 2 being a copy of the corrected certified extract from the Vernacular School Leaving Certificate. Thereafter and on the strength, presumably, of Exts. P1 and P2, the petitioner applied by Ext. P3 dated 7-4-1975 to the Assistant Educational Officer for correction of the entry as to the date of birth in the service records This was rejected by Ext. P4 order of the Government rejecting the proposal of the Director of Public Instruction. The writ petition was to quash P4 order.

(3.) The learned Judge was of the view that the correction as to the date of birth having been made in the school records, a corresponding correction of the date of birth had to be made in the service book as well. The material part of the learned Judge's judgment reads as follows: