STATE COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING EMPLOYEES ORGANISATION AND THREE ORS. Vs. STATE OF MANIPUR AND FOUR ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been preferred by an organisation called the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Employees Organisation, represented by its President, Vice President, General Secretary, and Asstt. General Secretary in the form of Public Interest Litigation with a prayer for quashing the impugned order dated 1.4.96 (Annexure -5).

(2.) THE facts of the present case is somewhat peculiar, and may be recited briefly. The dispute involved in this writ petition is with regard to the correction of the date of birth in the service Book of Respondent No. 5. Respondent No. 5 entered in Government service on 1.3.1956 as Head Pandit. Thereafter, he was appointed as Theory Instructor on 7.7.1961. The first volume of the Service Book of the Respondent No. 5 was opened on 17.10.1962. The date of birth recorded in the first volume of the Service Book opened on 17.10.1962 is 1.3.1938. Respondent No. 5 signed his volume -1 Service Book on 17.10.1962, counter signed by the Deputy Director of Education, Manipur. Respondent No. 5 also put the thumb impressions of Fingers in the first volume of the Service Book. Every page of volume -1 of the Service Book bears the signature of Respondent No. 5 upto 7.7.1976. It appears, thereafter volume -2 of the Service Book was opened w.e.f. 1.3.1956. In the second volume of the Service Book of the Respondent No. 5, the date of birth recorded is 1.7.1938. It is mystery as to how the volume -2 Service Book was opened w.e.f. 1.3.1956 when volume -1 of the Service Book was opened w.e.f. 17.10.1962. This has led to us to come to irresistible conclusion that the volume -2 of the Service Book of the 5th Respondent has been prepared well an after thought. Be that as it may, this fact may not be very important for resolving the present dispute.

(3.) IN the facts and circumstances, the facts giving rise to filing of the present petition are set out below in seriatim: