PRAVEEN KUMAR Vs. BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiff -appellant passed the High School Examination from the Board of High School and Intermediate Education U.P. Allahabad in the year 1973. The plaintiff took admission in the 11th class in the Government Higher Secondary School, Dholput on 11th of July, 1973 and continued the studies there The application from for the Higher Secondary Examination, which was to be held in March/April, 1974, were to be filled in by 15th of November, 1973, and were to be forwarded by the defendant Principal of the Higher Secondary School Dholpur to the Board of Higher Secondary Education, Ajmer (hereinafter referred to as the Board). The Principal of the said school re fused to forward the application form of the plaintiff appellant to the Board as according to the circular No. 33/73 P 26.07 -27831 of the Board sent to the defendant No. 2 to the effect that only those candidates who were born on or by fire 1st of October, 1958, were only eligible for the examination of 1973 -74 It may be mentioned here that the said circular was issued by the Board in pursuance of its regulation No. 12 Chapter 19 of the Hand Book of the Board The said regulation lays down that no candidate shall be al owed to appear at the Higher Secondary Examination unless he would complete the age of 16 years on 1st of October, of the year in which he intends to take the examination. The appellant, therefore, filed a suit wherein he challenged that the said circular was invalid being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The plaintiff further alleged in the plaint that the date of birth which had been recorded, in his transfer certificate, was not correctly recorded, as his correct date of with is 14th September, 1958. The plaintiff, therefore, prayed for issuance of a direction to the defendant No. 2 the Principal of the Higher Secondary School, Dholpar, to forward his application form for the examination of the Board so as to enable him to appear in the examination to be held in March/April, 1974. It was further prayed by the plaintiff that the Board should be restrained from rejecting his application for en for the examination on the basis of the above mentioned circular.

(2.) THE defendant respondent No. 1, the Board, contested the suit and inter alia challenged that the age restrictions to the effect that the candidate should have completed 16 years on 1st of October, 1973 is not at all violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and is a valid one. The Board further pleaded that the plaintiff being under age was not eligible to appear in the said examination and was, therefore, entitled to no relief. The defendant, Principal of the Higher Secondary School Dholpur, also contested the suit. In the written statement the defendant No. 2 challenged the assertion of the plaintiff that his date of birth was 14th of September, 1958 on the ground that such assertion was inconsistent with the plaintiff's date of birth recorded in his transfer certificate and application for admission which also contained the date of birth of the appellant was duly signed by the natural guardian of the plaintiff, and the plaintiff is bound by the date of birth recorded in the application for admission and in his transfer certificate. The defendant No. 2 further supported the plea of the Board in regard to the eligibility of the plaintiff to appear at the said examination as the plaintiff had not completed the age of 16 years on 1st of October, 1973. Further, an objection was taken by the defendant No. 2 that he being a public officer and having not been served with a notice under Section 80 CPC the suit against him is not at all maintainable in the absence of such a notice being served upon him.

(3.) BEING aggrieved, the plaintiff filed an appeal before the learned Addl. District Judge, Dholpur. The learned Addl. Judge, Dholpur endorsed the fir ding of the trial Court in regard to the validity of Regulation 12 Chapter 19. It further concurred with the finding of the trial Court that the suit was not maintainable against the defendant No. 2, as notice required Under Section 80 CPC was not at all given to him, much less served. The learned Addl. District Judge, Dholpur, however, disagreed with the finding of the learned Addl. Mans if that the plaintiff was born on 14th of September, 1958, and held that the real date of birth of the plaintiff as proved from the record is 12th of November, 1958. Accordingly, the learned appellate Court dismissed the plaintiff's appeal.