PABAN CHANDRA MONDAL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AN entry as to the age or the date of birth of a Government servant in this Service Book is obviously made in the official course of business and, as provided in Illustration (e) to Section 114 of the Evidance Act the Court may presume that such official act has been regularly performed. The presumption is permissive only; but even if it was some what obligatory, and not merely discretionary, it could still than be out weighed by evidence to the contrary in accordance with the procedure established by Law. Therefore even if the relevant law provides that the court shall presume such an entry to be correct, any one interested is entitled to disprove its correctness and in such a case the relevant entry may be rectified and altered

(2.) BUT such rectification or alteration cannot obviously be effected to operate to the prejudice of the person concerned without giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard. This is the clear, mandate of the principle of natural justice enshrined in the maximum Audi Alterant partem, which is of all pervasive omnipresence and inevitably supplements all our laws and procedure, administrative or judicial, unless Its operation is forestalled by express enunication or irrestible implicationl. No citation should be necessary for this too obvioas a proposition that even administrative action adversely affecting a party can only be made in accordanace with the principles of natural justice. But still reference may be made to the decision of the Supreme Court in State of Orissa vs. Binapani Dei (AIR 1967 SC 1259) as the same also relates to alteration of age as : recorded in the Service Book.

(3.) BUT the case at hand is just the converse where the appellant/writ-petitioner has been served with an orjer of super-annuation, not in alteration of, but in accorance with, the date of birth recorded in his Service book under his own signature. I a. n not aware of any law or rule which requires a person to be heard before he is sought to be retired or super-annuated on the basis of the entry relating to his age or date of birth under his signature in his Service Book, without any adverse alteration thereof behind his back.