PRAVAKAR JENA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA AND OTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India wherein the petitioner asks for issuance of a writ of certiorari to quash the order contained in Annexure-2 directing him to retire from service on 30-9-1983 (A.N.) and of a writ of mandamus to command the opposite parties to allow the petitioner to continue in service till 31-12-1989 or at least till 31-12-1987.

(2.) The petitioner's case may be briefly stated. In the year 1943 he was fourteen years' old and was studying in Class VIII in Bhadrak High School. He discontinued his studies in the same year. Thereafter he joined as a primary school teacher on 1-12-1948 at the age of nineteen years. In the transfer certificate issued by the Bhadrak High School, Annexure-l (a), his date of birth has been recorded as 15-12-1929. In the year 1956-57 on the basis of the school leaving certificate issued by the Bhadrak High School, his date of birth was recorded as 15-12-1929 in his service book. The petitioner is due to retire from service on 31-12-1978 (1987 ) on completion of 58 years of age, but in case the age of superannuation of Primary School Teachers is fixed at 60 years, he is to retire from service on 31-12-1989. However, the District Inspector of Schools. Bhadrak, opposite party No. 2, by his Memo No. 5746 dt. 25-7-1983, Annexure-2, has directed the petitioner to retire from service on 30-9-1983. It is alleged that this decision of opposite party No. 2 is arbitrary and is based on an illegal presumption that the petitioner's date of birth is 1-10-1925. It is further alleged that being instigated by some persons inimical to the petitioner, opposite party No. 2 and the Block Development Officer, Bhadrak, opposite party No. 3, have conspired to retire the petitioner from service four years before the actual date of his retirement. It is also alleged that opposite parties 2 and 3 held inquiries relating to the date of birth of the petitioner behind his back without giving hi'm adequate opportunity to represent his case. The petitioner had asked opposite party No. 3 for supplying to . him the duplicate copy of his service book, but this was not done. The petitioner has prayed that his writ petition should be allowed as the fixation of his date of birth as 1-10-1925 has been the result of illegal and capricious action of the opposite parties.

(3.) In their counter, the opposite parties have denied the allegations of the petitioner. It is further stated that the date of birth of the petitioner has been corrected as 1-10-1925 instead of 15-12-1929 which had been wrongly entered in his service book. The petitioner was admitted to Bishnupur Bindha L. P. School on 1-10-1929 in Class I. He continued in that school up to Dec, 1935 after which he took admission in Khandatara U. P. School and continued in that school up to 31-12-1937. He passed U. P. Examination from the said School. Thereafter he joined N.C.M.E. School, Bhadrak on 15-1-1938. He studied on Classes VI and Vll, but before completing the full term in Class VII he discontinued his studies until his readmission into N.C.M.E. School on 6-1-1940. He was again re-admitted in the said school on 20-1-1942. He has not passed the M. E. Standard examination from the N.C.M.E. School, Bhadrak. He took transfer certificate from N.C.M.E. School on 15-1-1943. Five days thereafter he joined the Bhadrak High School in Class VIII without furnishing any transfer or school leaving certificate from N.C.M.E. School, Bhadrak. As the petitioner had not passed Class VII examination, he was not entitled to join Class VIII in the High School. While leaving Bishnupur Bindha L. P. School, the petitioner had taken his transfer certificate which he had produced before Khandatara U. P. School and in that transfer certificate the petitioner's date of birth is recorded as 1-10-1925. In the transfer certificate issued by Khandatara U. P. School which the petitioner had produced before N.C.M.E. School, Bhadrak, his date of birth has been recorded as 1-10-1925. He took first admission in the Bhadrak High School by suppressing the fact that he had not passed M. E. Standard examination or that he was previously studying in any other school. He was a student of Bhadrak High School for a period of forty days only. When the controversy relating to the date of birth of the petitioner came to the. notice of the opposite parties, they called for an explanation from the petitioner. The explanation submitted by the petitioner was duly considered but was not found satisfactory. Although the petitioner was asked to produce documents in support of his claim that his date of birth was 15-12-1929, he did not do so in spite of several opportunities given to him. Accordingly, the date of birth of the petitioner was corrected to 1-10-1925 and the petitioner has been asked to retire on 30-9-1983. It is alleged that the certificate as per Annexure-1 (a) was fraudulently obtained by the petitioner. The true copy of the transfer certificate granted by Bishnupur Bindha L. P. School, Annexure-1 the letter issued by the Headmaster of Khandatara U. P. School containing an extract from the admission register, Annexure-B; the letter from the Headmaster of N.C.M.E. School containing an extract from the admission register of that school, Annexure-C; and the transfer certificate granted by N.C.M.E. School, Annexure-D clearly show that the date of birth of the petitioner was 1-10-1925. It is also stated that the duplicate copy of the service book could not be supplied to the petitioner as the same had not been prepared. The allegation that the opposite parties had acted illegally and capriciously and in conspiracy is firmly denied. It is asserted that the petitioner was given adequate opportunity to represent his case before the authorities as regards his date of birth and that as the petitioner failed to substantiate his claim, on the basis of records, the petitioner's dale of birth has been corrected to 1-10-1925. Accordingly, the opposite parties have prayed that the writ petition should be dismissed.