Date Of Birth Declared By A Government Servant, Once Recorded In Service Book, Cannot Be Altered After 5 Yrs: J&K&L HC
The Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court dismissed the Second Appeal filed by the employee for correction of his date of birth in service records.
The Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court held that the date of birth declared by a government servant, once recorded in the service book, cannot be altered after five years.
The Court dismissed the Second Appeal filed by the employee upholding the decision of the Trial Court that rejected his prayer for correction of date of birth in his service records.
A Single Bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul held, “No alteration of date of birth of a Government servant shall be made by the Government (Administrative Department) unless a request in this regard is made by the concerned Government servant within a period of five years of his/ her entry into Government service and it is clearly established a genuine/bona fide mistake has occurred.”
Senior Advocate M.Y. Bhat represented the Appellant, while Advocate Mir Majid Bashir appeared for the Respondents.
Brief Facts
The employee had sought correction of his date of birth from January 3, 1953, to December 31, 1958, alleging that the incorrect entry was made at the instance of his illiterate parents. He claimed that upon discovering the discrepancy through school and birth records, he approached the authorities for rectification, but his request was denied, leading him to file a civil suit.
Court’s Reasoning
The High Court held that the “Impugned judgements are lucid, comprehensive and does not call for any interference inasmuch as there is no substance muchless material or cogent one in the instant appeal and, as such, it warrants dismissal for all what would be said hereinafter.”
The Court pointed out that Rule 35 AA of the J&K Civil Services Regulations 1956 (Regulations) clearly stipulates that alteration of date of birth after five years cannot be made. “It says that the date of birth so declared by the Government servant and accepted, and once recorded by the appropriate authority in the service book or any other record of service of the Government servant, as the case may be, shall not be subject to any alteration, except in the case of clerical error without the orders of the Government,” it explained.
“It is now trite law on the subject that change of date of birth in service records cannot be claimed as a matter of right. It has also been held by the Supreme Court that a decision on the issue of date of birth is as important for the employer as it is for the employee. The Court also ought not to grant any relief even if it is shown that the date of birth, as originally recorded, was incorrect because the candidate concerned had represented a different date of birth to be taken into consideration obviously with a view that it would be to his advantage,” the Court explained.
Consequently, the Court held, “A person applying for government job, cannot be heard saying that he/she had no knowledge about his/her credentials/testimonials which he submitted when he/she applied for government job.”
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Appeal.
Cause Title: Ghulam Nabi Sofi v. State of J&K & Ors. (CSA no.08/2014)
Appearance:
Appellant: Senior Advocate M.Y. Bhat; Advocate Sajid Bhat
Respondents: Advocate Mir Majid Bashir; GA Jehangir A. Dar
