BHEKH LAL GANJHU Vs. CENTRAL COAL FIELD LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents.

(2.) Petitioner has approached this Court with a prayer for a direction upon the respondents to refer his case before a Medical Board/ Age Assessment Committee to determine his age and thereafter to correct his date of birth so recorded in the Service Book. Petitioner has further prayed for a direction upon the respondents to extend all benefits so accrues to him after redetermination of his age.

(3.) The factual exposition as has been delineated in the writ petition is that upon Voluntary Retirement Scheme opted by the petitioner's mother Smt. Gunjari Ganjhu, petitioner was inducted in the service to the post of P/R in Giddi Washery on the ground of dependent of his mother. At the time of his appointment, petitioner had disclosed his age as 27 years. However, in the year 2015, petitioner could learn that his age has been mentioned as 15/4/1965 in the Service Book on the basis of Medical Fitness Certificate given by the Doctor who assessed his age as 35 at the time of his appointment. Thereafter, petitioner raised objection that his age was wrongly recorded without any basis which would be evident from the service book of his mother where it has been clearly mentioned that petitioner was 15 years of age when service book with details of the dependents were prepared in the year 1987 and as such, his birth year would be 1972 instead of 1965. It is case of the petitioner that being illiterate, his case would have been referred to Age Assessment Committee/ Medical Board in view of company's own procedure namely JBCCI, but petitioner was never referred before the said Committee. Neither ossification test nor Teeth Test or any other test was conducted to determine age of the petitioner. His age has been recorded only at the whims of the doctor at the time of his appointment and the same was never intimated to him at any stage. Petitioner moved before the concerned authorities with a request to refer his case before the Age Assessment Committee/ Medical Board to determine his age as required under JBCCI, but no action was taken. Petitioner thereafter represented before the concerned authorities for doing the needful and for correction or re-assessment of his age either on the basis of service book of his mother and mentioned by him at the time of his appointment or on the basis of age as may be determined by the Age Assessment Committee/ Medical Board. In spite of regular request respondents have not taken any step and as such he has knocked door of this Court.