AB RASHID RESHI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has challenged order dated 1.11.1999, whereby he was ordered to be retired from Government service as driver with effect from 31.1.2000 and has sought relief of his continuance in the service till 2003.

(2.) THE brief facts as indicated in the writ petition are that the petitioner was appointed as driver by the Director Health Services, Kashmir, vide his order dated 17.3.1956 against a substantive post of driver. At the time of preparation of his service book, the Drawing and Disbursing Officer wrongly recorded his date of birth as 3.1.1942. When the petitioner came to know of this, he immediately disputed the entry and produced the necessary school leaving certificate and the authorities after conducting an enquiry and verification of the record and other material, corrected the said date of birth from 3.1.1942 to 7.5.1945. The original entry of date of birth was deleted after making corrections. After 13 years of service rendered in the Health Department, petitioner came to be transferred to Medical College, Srinagar, vide order dated 15.11.1979 and entry to this effect has also been recorded in his service book. Petitioner claim that on the basis of his date of birth as duly and properly recorded in his service book, he has to retire on 31st May, 2003. He was, however, sought to be retired earlier than his date of superannuation on the basis of the previous entry of his date of birth i.e. 3rd January 1942, which stands deleted and corrected with the new date of birth recorded in the service record.

(3.) OBJECTIONS have been filed by the respondents wherein it is pleaded that the date of birth once recorded in the service book of the petitioner cannot be altered at the fag end of the service career. Petitioner filed a representation in 1998 for correction of his date of birth. It is stated that if the petitioners grievance was genuine, he should have filed a representation within six months after the issuance of SRO 310 of 1995 and avail the opportunity for correction of his date of birth under law. In para 4 of the objections, respondents have stated that the original date of birth was recorded as 3.1.1942 in the service book of the petitioner which was ascertained from the medical certificate.