GOVINDARAJULU Vs. CHAIRMAN NEYVELI LIGNITE CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff is the appellant. The plaintiff filed a suit for declaration to declare his date of birth as 16.8.1935 and for a direction to the defendants to effect the corrections in their official records.

(2.) The case of the plaintiff is that he was the only son to his parents and he was born in the month of August, 1935. The plaintiff lost his father when he was nine months old and his mother was illiterate. At the time when the plaintiff was admitted in the school, his date of birth was wrongly given by his mother as 8.10.1932 and the same was not correct. The plaintiff completed his school final in the year 1956 and in the certificate issued by the second defendant, his date of birth was wrongly entered as 8.10.1932. The plaintiff joined in the first defendant-Corporation on 26.5.1961 and there also, he has given his date of birth as 8.10.1932. It is stated that on 3.10.1988, he has obtained a certified extract of birth from the Taluk office, Villupuram and then only he came to know that his correct date of birth was 16th August, 1935 and not 8.10.1932. With the help of the certificate issued by the Tahsildar, the plaintiff applied to the first defendant on 25.1.1989 seeking to correct the records with regard to his date of birth as 16.8.1935, to which the first defendant gave a reply on 3.3.1989 stating that as per Rule 10(d) of the Standing order of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, the date of birth cannot be altered contrary to school records. It is only thereafter, the plaintiff has filed the suit.

(3.) The first defendant, in his written statement, has stated that the plaintiff joined duty on 26.5.1961 and his Service Register was opened, in which, based upon his SSLC certificate, his date of birth was recorded as 8.10.1932. The plaintiff has also accepted the said date of birth and signed in the Service Register. Thereupon, a circular was sent on 30.12.1975 to confirm the date of birth wherein also his date of birth was mentioned as 8.10.1932 and the plaintiff acknowledged the same and did not raise any objection. Thereafter, only in the year 1989, the plaintiff gave a petition seeking to change his date of birth as 16.8.1935 instead of 8.10.1932 and the same was not accepted.