Date Of Birth Entered In Service Record Can’t Be Changed Even If It Is Subsequently Corrected In High School Certificate: Allahabad HC
|The Allahabad High Court observed that the Date of Birth entered in the service record cannot be changed even if it is subsequently corrected in the High School Certificate.
A writ petition was preferred against the order of the District Basic Education Officer, Jhansi that recalled an earlier order correcting the date of birth (DOB) of a woman in the service record.
A Single Bench of Justice Manjive Shukla observed, “Since it is an admitted case of the petitioner that her date of birth at the time of entry into the government service in the High School certificate was recorded as 3.11.1960 and therefore, even if the date of birth has been subsequently corrected in the High School certificate, the date of birth entered in the service record cannot be changed in view of the prohibition contained in Rule 2 of the Rules of 1974.”
The Bench said that the legislature of the State of U.P. has deliberately amended the Rule 2 of the Uttar Pradesh Recruitment to Service (Determination of Date of Birth) Rules, 1974 and thereby has provided that the date of birth of a government servant as recorded in the High School certificate at the time of his entry into the government service shall be final for the purposes of service benefits and no application for change of the said date of birth shall be entertained.
Advocate Kailash Singh Kushwaha appeared for the petitioner while Standing Counsel Chandrakesh Rai and Advocate Rama Nand Pandey appeared for the respondents.
Factual Background -
The petitioner, in the year 1981, passed out an examination of 8th class and then a transfer certificate was issued to her in which her DOB was mentioned as November 3, 1967. Then she passed out her High School examination in 1983 and a provisional certificate was issued by the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, UP in which the same DOB was mentioned. Though in the said provisional certificate, her DOB was November 3, 1967 but when she was issued marksheet and certificate of High School examination, her DOB was recorded as November 3, 1960. Hence, she requested for correction of DOB, but when nothing was done on the part of the school’s Principal, she submitted an application to the Additional Secretary, Regional Office.
While the petitioner’s case for correction of her DOB was pending, she applied for appointment on the post of Assistant Teacher in district Auraiya. Pursuant to her application, she was appointed. After joining, her service book was prepared and her DOB as per High School marksheet and certificate, was recorded in her service book. Thereafter, she was transferred to district Jhansi and she continued to pursue her case for correction of DOB. Later, Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad realized its mistake and corrected her DOB. Hence, she requested for correction of DOB in the service book and the District Basic Education Officer directed for the same. She continued to work on the said post but all of a sudden the Officer recorded a finding that as per Rule 2 of 1974 Rules, DOB in service book shall be final.
The High Court in the above context of the case noted, “I find that petitioner’s date of birth in her High School certificate at the time of her entry into the service was recorded as 3.11.1960, therefore in view of the provisions of the aforesaid Rule 2 of the Rules of 1974, her date of birth for the purposes of service benefits shall be 3.11.1960 and no application for change of her date of birth can be entertained. In the case of the petitioner, her date of birth recorded in the High School certificate has been changed by the U.P. Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, Prayagraj in the year 2021 but on the said basis her date of birth recorded in her service record cannot be changed in view of the prohibition contained in Rule 2 of the Rules of 1974.”
The Court said that in un-amended Rule 2 of the Rules of 1974, the words “at the time of his entry into the government service” were missing but while amending Rule 2 of the Rules of 1974, the said words were inserted by the legislature only with specific intention that the issue of date of birth for the purposes of service benefits has to be finalized at the time of entry into the government service and no application for change of date of birth recorded in the service record can be entertained.
The Court concluded by saying that the interpretation made by the Supreme Court in the case of U.P. Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad and others v. Raj Kumar Agnihotri, reported in (2005) 11 SCC 465, shall apply to each and every case where Rule 2 of 1974 Rules is applicable.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the writ petition.
Cause Title- Kavita Kureel v. State of U.P. and 3 Others (Neutral Citation: 2023:AHC:223211)