STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS Vs. HUSSAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Suit for declaration filed by respondent herein that his correct date of birth was 19.11.1952 and the date of birth recorded in his service-book on the basis of matriculation certificate as 17.7.1950 was wrong, against the real facts and liable to be corrected by the defendants-appellants in the relevant record as 19.11.1952 with a consequential relief for permanent injunction so as to restrain the defendants from retiring him on the basis of his date of birth as recorded in the service-book and for mandatory injunction directing the defendants to correct the date of birth in the relevant record, was decreed by learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Hoshiarpur on 8.6.2000. Appellants-herein filed an appeal against the same, but it was dismissed on 27.4.2004. Still not satisfied, the defendants filed the present second appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(2.) The case of the plaintiff-respondent was that he was appointed as Sub Divisional Officer by the defendants with effect from 18.10.1977. On 7.11.1997, he was promoted as Executive Engineer. When he joined the service, initially his date of birth was recorded in his service-book as 17.7.1950 on the basis of his matriculation certificate. However, a few days earlier to the filing of the suit, his mother Smt. Tilak Rani came to him at Amritsar and told him that his date of birth was 19.11.1952, as she herself was married on 20.4.1951. His date of birth as 17.7.1950 was got recorded, though wrongly, by his illiterate grandfather at the time of his admission in the school. On receiving this information, the plaintiff approached the office of the Registrar, Births and Deaths, Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar and obtained certificate which mentioned his correct date of birth, i.e. 19.11.1952. Under these circumstances, he claimed that he was entitled to have his correct date of birth entered in the official record of the defendants.

(3.) In their written statement, the defendants stated that at the time of joining the service, the plaintiff himself produced his matriculation certificate mentioning his date of birth as 17.7.1950. The suit was filed by him after a lapse of about 21 years from date of his entry into service, and, therefore, it was hopelessly time barred. He had equally efficacious remedy to approach the Punjab State for correction of his date of birth in his service records as per notification dated 22.6.1994. However, the same was required to be done within a period of two years from the issuance of the said notification. As he had not availed of the same, he could not be granted the relief in the present suit.