BISWANATH SINGH Vs. STATE OF MEGHALAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was appointed on 01.04.1984 as Jugali in the Meghalaya State Electricity Board which upon being unbundled came to be known as Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (for short "MeECL") and thereafter he was promoted to Line Man Grade-2.

(2.) The petitioner claims that he had joined service on 01.04.1984 and was presently continuing as Line Man Grade-2 with another five years of service left before attaining the age of superannuation of 58 years in the year 2021. The petitioner at the time of appointment on 01.04.1984 had duly submitted his original school certificate as an age proof (written in Hindi) reflecting therein his date of birth as 22.12.1963 issued by the Headmaster, Rajkiyakrit High School, Chandpura, Vaishali, Bihar and the same was accepted by the respondent-Authority. The petitioner has been shown to be 44 years as on 01.01.2007 as reflected in the Election Identity Card issued by the Electoral Registration Officer, East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya. Other documents i.e., driving license, PAN card etc., also bear his date of birth as 22.12.1963 which is the actual and correct date of birth.

(3.) According to the petitioner after 31 years of diligent service in the respondent's office, suddenly he received a notice of superannuation issued by respondent No.4 vide impugned Memo No.Me.PDCL/SD/DGM(E)/PF-671/2015-16/731 dated 10.11.2015 informing him that he was scheduled to retire from service w.e.f. 30.04.2016 on attaining the age of superannuation and to furnish all necessary documents for availing the pensionary benefits. The petitioner was surprised to receive the impugned notice dated 10.11.2015 since his date of birth was 22.12.1963 and his original school certificate along with all other relevant documents proved the same and considering the date of his appointment i.e. 01.04.1984, another five years of service was left for attaining the age of superannuation i.e. in the year 2021. The petitioner on receiving the premature notice of superannuation dated 10.11.2015 issued by respondent No.4 submitted a representation dated 22.01.2016 requesting the respondent No.4 to re-calculate the date of retirement as mentioned in the impugned notice dated 10.11.2015 after taking into consideration his date of birth i.e. 22.12.1963 as mentioned in the school certificate submitted at the time of appointment. The petitioner even after a considerable period of time did not receive any response to his representation dated 22.01.2016 from the respondent No.4, reflecting the lackadaisical attitude in addressing the intricacies and inconvenience faced by its employees. The petitioner applied for a duplicate copy of the school certificate from his school i.e. Rajkiyakrit High School, Chandpura, Vaishali, Bihar and was issued a duplicate certificate by the said school on 21.03.2016.