JAGADISH KUMAR DEKA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An identical issue being involved in all the four writ petitions, the same are taken up for consideration together and disposed of by this common order.

(2.) The issue involved in brief pertains to the action of the respondent authorities in purporting to make certain recoveries of the salaries of the petitioner on the ground of overstay in their services. At the outset, it may be noted that such overstay is on the principal ground of wrong calculation of the date of birth of the petitioners while entering the same in the Service Book of the petitioners at the time of their recruitment.

(3.) To consider and decide the aforesaid issue, it would be convenient if the facts are placed on records. The petitioners in WP (C) No. 3402/2019, WP (C) No. 3422/2019, WP (C) No. 4475/2019 namely, Shri Jagadish Kumar Deka, Shri Imran Hussain Borah and Shri Sarat Hazarika, at the time of filing of writ petitions were Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police in the Assam Police Radio Organization (hereinafter, APRO) whereas the petitioner in WP (C) No. 3423/2019 Shri Manabendra Sarma was an Inspector in the said Organization. The petitioners have reached the aforesaid ranks by virtue of being promoted from time to time. It is the cases of the petitioners that at the time of entering into the services their dates of birth were recorded in the Service Book from the HSLC examination certificate submitted by the petitioners. It may be mentioned that at those times, such certificates did not contain the date of birth but the age of the candidates were written as on 1st of March of the concerned year from which the date of birth was deducible.