BALAKRISHNAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner who is an aided school Headmaster wants to correct his date of birth from 11. 11. 1939 to 7. 8. 1941. As per Ext. P2 order dated 28. 10. 1991 the second respondent corrected the date of birth of the petitioner in the SSLC book as 7. 8. 1941. Ext. P2 specifically stated that this course did not necessarily entail alteration of date of birth in service records for which the petitioner should apply to the concerned authorities. THEreafter the petitioner submitted an application before the Government on 18. 12. 1991 evidenced by Ext. P3. In the Ext. P3 the petitioner requested to correct his date of birth as 7. 8. 1941 in Part 1 of the service book. THE same was rejected by Ext. P4. In Ext. P4, it was stated that the petitioner was admitted to Standard I on 18. 6. 1945 with the date of binhll. il. 1939. If the claim of the petitioner that his correct date of birth is 7. 8. 1941 is true, he would have been admitted to Std. I at the age of 3 years and 10 months. On the above ground the request for correction of date of birth in the service book was rejected. THEreafter the petitioner filed Ext. P5 Review Petition. Ext. P5 was rejected by Ext. P6 stating that the Government did not find any reason to reconsider the decision.

(2.) SRI. V.K. Ravindran , learned counsel for the petitioner argued that when the Note to R. 28 of Chap. XIV-A of the K. E.R. lays down that the date of birth to be entered in the service book at the time of the entry in service shall be that entered in the school admission register, matriculation book of SSLC book, the school records which stand corrected as per Ext. P2 order must be the basis for the entry in the service book. Ext. P2 itself was passed by the second respondent in exercise of the statutory authority under R. 3 (2) of Chapter VI of the K. E. R. It was further argued that there would be no scope for two different dates of birth as far as a person is concerned. Once the date of birth is corrected in the SSLC Book, it must be automatically carried out in the service book.

(3.) R. 3 (2) of Chapter VI of the K. E. R. empowers the Commissioner for Government examinations to correct the date of birth in the school records. R. 28 of the chapter XIV-A lays down that the date of birth to be entered in the service book shall be that entered in the school admission register or SSLC book. What the petitioner wants is that the correction in the SSLC book must automatically be reflected in the service book also. On a reading of the two rules together, I do not find any justification to accept the interpretation of the petitioner. The rules in Chapter VI and Chapter XIV-A lay down the procedure for the correction of date of birth. The authority to correct the date of birth in the service book is the Government. The Government is bound to consider the case for correction of the date of birth on merits and depending upon the facts of each case. There is no rule that correction in the SSLC book must automatically be carried out in the service book. Correction of date of birth in the service book is not a matter which has to follow automatically by the correction in the SSLC book. The Government is competent to lay down rules, norms and guidelines with respect to the correction of date of birth. The Government has prescribed a time limit for the correction of date of birth of Government employees in the service book. Three such orders have been referred to in the Note to R. 28 of chapter XIV-A K. E.R. It also mention that the conditions stipulated in these orders shall be applicable to aided school staff. Therefore, these orders are not either in violation or in conflict with the rules in the K. E.R.