The court established that it was not advisable to exercise jurisdiction in favor of correcting the date of birth of a government servant, considering the recent trend of judicial precedents and the inordinate delay in finding out the mistake in the date of birth.

Rajan, J.

The appellant wants to correct his date of birth from 13.7.1943 (29.11.1118 ME) to 19.9.1944 (3.2,1920 ME). The request for correction of the date of birth was rejected by the second respondent by Ext. P6 order dt. 2.5.1994. The appellant filed an appeal against the above order before the first respondent. The above appeal was also rejected by Ext. P8 order dt. 18.5.1995. Aggrieved by Ext. P8 order, the appellant filed O. P. No. 10829 of 1995 before this court. A learned single judge by Ext. P13 judgment dt. 30.11.1995 quashed Ext. P8 order and directed the first respondent to consider the appeal petition submitted by the appellant afresh after taking into consideration the document produced by the appellant. Thereafter the second respondent passed Ext. P15 order dL 9,2.1996 again rejecting the request of the appellant to correct his date of birth. The challenge against Ext. P15 order was not successful before the learned single judge. Hence this appeal.

2. Sri. M. V. Bose, learned counsel for the appellant strenuously argued that Ext. P15 order did not consider any of the documents produced by the appellant as directed in Ext. P13 judgment. The most important document, which the appellant is relying on, is Ext. P2 certificate of birth issued by Taluk Panchayat Officer, Quilon. The date of registration of the birth as seen in Ext. P2 is 12.2.1120. The date of birth as entered in the register is 3.2.1120 corresponding to 19.9.1944. But curiously the name of the

appellant was not entered originally in the register. It is seen that as per the order of the Director of Panchayat dt. 23.6.92, the name of the appellant was entered in the register on 23.7.92. In this connection, it is pertinent to note that the earliest petition filed by the appellant to condone the delay to apply to the second respondent for correction of date of birth was 7.8.92. Therefore, it is not safe to rely on Ext. P2 certificate of birth issued by the Taluk Panchayat Officer in order to conclusively hold that the real date of birth of the appellant is 3.2.1120.

3. The other document, which the appellant strongly relies on, is Ext. P3 baptism certificate and Ext. P11 family register, both issued by the church. They are also not to be relied on because they were issued only in 1992andin 1995. The certificates issued by the church cannot be described as reliable documents as against the school records of the appellant.

4. The recent trend of judicial precedents in the matter of correction of the date of birth of Government servants is against exercising the discretionary jurisdiction of the High Courts/ Tribunals to correct the date of birth of employers so as to enable them to have aii extended lease of official career. In this connection, it is useful to refer to one of the recent decision so the Supreme Court reported in Burn Standard. Co. Ltd. & Ors. v. Sh. Dinabandhu Majumdar and Ann (IT 1995 (4) SC 23). In the above judgment the Supreme Court posed the question to be decided as follows:

"The importance of the date of birth of an employee given to his employer and accepted as correct by the latter and entered in the Service and Leave Record' of the former, cannot be underestimated. That is so for the reason that the employees' service with the employer has to be necessarily regulated according to such date of birth. Therefore, when a person is taken into service on appointment, he would be required by his employer to declare his correct date of birth and support the same by production of appropriate certificates or documents, if any. Even then, the persons so appointed fail to produce the certificates or documents in proof of their date of birth, they would be required to affix their thumb impression or signature in authentication of their declared ages or dates of birth. When on the basis of such declaration made or certificates produced by the employee an entry is made of his date of birth in his * Service and Leave Record' to be opened,