LALJI RAM Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application prayer made by the petitioner is to quash the communication dated 29th May, 2001 (Annexure -9) whereby the petitioner has been informed that the Police Headquarters by its Memo No. 172. dated 22.1.2000 has rejected the prayer for correction of date of birth. His further prayer is to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to change his date of birth from 1943 to 3.7.1947 in the service book.

(2.) BEREFT of unnecessary details, facts giving rise to the present application are that the petitioner was initially appointed as Constable on 1.2.1968 in B.M.P.X. and in the service book his year of birth has been mentioned as 1943, as also 25 years of age on 19.1.68. Said service book (Annexure -C) contains the signature of the petitioner. Petitioner later on was posted as Literate Constable by Force Order No. 154/86. He was promoted to the rank of Writer Havildar in the year 1996. In the year 1998. a gradation list of the Literate Constables in the Bihar Military Police was published and in that the date of birth of the petitioner has been shown as 1943 and the date of appointment as 1.2.1960. Petitioner filed application on 31.8.1998 (Annexure -5) for correction of his date of birth as also the date of appointment. His claim was that his date of appointment is 1.2.1968 and the date of birth 4th June, 1947. In support of his assertion, he filed certificates of the Junior High School Examination, 1960 conducted by the Educa Department of the State of Uttar Pradesh and High School Examination, 1963 conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Uttar Pradesh. According to those certificates, petitioner passed the Junior High School Examination in the year 1960 and High School Examination in the year 1963. The request of the petitioner was considered by the Additional Director General, Bihar Military Police and he directed that typographical error i.e. 1.2.1960 in the date of appointment of the petitioner be read as 1.2.1968. However, he turned down the prayer of the petitioner for correction of date of birth. The decision of the Additional Director General of Police was communicated to the Commandant of Bihar Military Police -X where the petitioner was working by Memo dated 22.1.2000 (Annexure -A). The Commandant of the Bihar Military Police by its communication dated 29th of May, 2001 apprised the petitioner of the decision taken by the Additional Director, Bihar Military Police rejecting his prayer for correction of the date of birth.

(3.) PRAYER of the petitioner has been rejected mainly on the ground that the application filed by the petitioner is beyond the time prescribed by the Home (Police) Department in its Memo No. 2115 dated 21.2.1976 which had, inter alia, fixed time limit of one year for making application for correction in the date of birth.