SUSHIL KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD counsel for the petitioner and the Bihar School Examination Board (in short the Board).

(2.) THE petitioner seeks quashing of the decision of the Board, communicated by its Assistant Secretary under his letter dated 4.9.97 rejecting his application for correction of the date of birth in the matriculation certificate. According to the petitioner, his date of birth is 15th August 1977 but the same has been wrongly mentioned as 15th August 1972 in the certificate. In support of the contention the petitioner has placed reliance on the admission register of the concerned school (Annexure -2), the consolidated statement of the students forwarded by the concerned school to the Board (Annexure -3), the Admit Card with respect to the examination in question issued by the Board (Annexure -4) and the School Leaving Certificate (Annexure -5). In all these documents the date of birth of the petitioner has been mentioned as 15th August 1977.

(3.) COUNSEL for the Board does not dispute the correctness of the entries regarding the date of birth in the aforesaid documents. He, in fact, takes the stand that under the existing rules of procedure after five years of the concerned examination the records are destroyed and, therefore, it is not possible to verify the claim of the petitioner. He further takes the plea that as the application for correction of the date of birth was filed after inordinate delay, sometime in the year 1997, the petitioner is not entitled to any relief. It is pointed out that although the certificate in question was issued to the petitioner sometime in the year 1996, in the cross list, which is issued immediately after the publication of the result, all the particulars including the date of birth of the candidate was mentioned. It is, accordingly, submit - ted that as the petitioner was aware of the mistake regarding date of birth he should have filed application within reasonable time. It is stated that on the ground of delay this Court has refused to pass positive order in some cases.