(1.) In this petition, the petitioner has raised a point as to the applicability of the decision of the Supreme Court in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, AIR 1997 SC 1125.
(2.) To appreciate the controversy raised in this petition, few relevant facts may now be stated. The petitioner was sought to be retired on the basis of his date of birth recorded with the respondent authorities as 1st February, 1939. According to the petitioner, his date of birth shown in service record was not correct and there was a mistake in recording it. Since he was an employee of the Central Government, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), he approached Central Administrative Tribunal ("C.A.T." for short). He filed an Application being Original Application No. 101 of 1994 for getting a declaration that his correct date of birth was September 3, 1942 and for consequential reliefs on that basis. C.A.T., however, did not uphold the contention of the petitioner and by an order dated June 21, 1995 (Annexure Z to the petition) dismissed the petition. In the operative part of the order, it was stated :-
(3.) Against the said order, the petitioner filed an Application for review being Review Application No. 42 of 1996. That Application was filed exactly after one year, i.e. on June 21, 1996. To recall, the order was passed by C.A.T. on June 21, 1995. When the Review Application came up for hearing before C.A.T., it was dismissed on the ground of limitation as also on merits. The Tribunal observed in its order dated October 30, 1996 :-