RANJANA LAU SALAKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. By consent of the parties, Rule is taken up forthwith. We have heard the learned Counsel for the parties.

(2.) The Administrative Officer in the Maharashtra Labour Welfare Mandal, vide his letter dated 4th March, 2005, declined to accept the request of the petitioner for change in date of birth in the service record of the petitioner. The petitioner again made an application on 2nd January, 2007, which was also rejected by the Education Officer, respondent No. 3, vide order dated 3rd April, 2007. The legality and correctness of both these orders is questioned by the petitioner in the present writ petition on the strength of Rule 38 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (General Conditions of Services) Rule, 1981, hereinafter referred to as "the Rules". The relevant part of Rules on which the petitioner relies on reads as under:

(3.) The facts necessary for determining the merit of the contentions raised on behalf of the petitioner are that the petitioner was born in N. Wadia Maternity Hospital on 16th May, 1951 and an entry to that effect was made in the records of the hospital. The petitioner took admission in the School by incorrectly mentioning her date of birth as 18th May, 1949, which entry was carried in the school records of the petitioner. The petitioner joined the services of respondent Nos. 4 to 6 in the year 1972. It is further pleaded by the petitioner that one of the friends of the petitioner who was elder to her was still in service and was still to retire and impressed by this fact, the petitioner made certain enquiries in the year 2004, after the death of her father, from her paternal uncle and then came to know that the petitioner was born in N. Wadia Hospital, Mumbai, in the year 1951 and not in 1949 and resultantly her date of birth was wrongly recorded. Persuaded by this information, the petitioner moved an application on 3rd January, 2005, after receiving the copy of the birth certificate from the record of the hospital. On 25th January, 2005, the petitioner applied for correction of her date of birth in the service record. In support of her claim, the petitioner also filed an affidavit and forwarded the same to the Assistant Welfare Commissioner with recommendation of her department. Though the case of the petitioner was recommended by the department, still the authorities rejected the claim of the petitioner on the ground of limitation stating that after lapse of period of more than five years from the date of joining of service, the date of birth in the records could not be corrected. As already noticed, the petitioner again moved an application but in vain and finally the request was rejected vide order dated 3rd April, 2007.