The correction of date of birth in the school register does not automatically require a corresponding correction in the service register, and exceptional grounds must be provided for such correction.

1. The State Government, the Director of Public Instruction, Trivandrum and the Assistant Educational Officer, Changanacherry, have filed this appeal against the judgment of a learned judge allowing O.P.No. 2757 of 1977 and directing that the entry as to the date of birth in the writ petitioner's service register is liable to be corrected on the basis of the corrections made in the school records, and declaring that the petitioner is liable to retire only on 27 -10-1977. The 1st respondent was directed to pass appropriate orders on the basis of the entries in the School-records of the petitioner as corrected by the Commissioner for Government Examinations by Ext. P-1 order.

2. The writ petitioner's date of birth as entered in the service register was 15-10-1096 M. E.-27-4-1921. That would place his date of retirement on superannuation as 26-4-1976. He applied on 1-1-1974 (not produced) to the Deputy Commissioner for Examinations for correction of his date of birth as shown in the school records as 11-3-1098 M. E./27-10-1922. By Ext. P6 dated 30-4-1974 the Deputy Commissioner directed the petitioner to make the application before the appropriate authority who was the Commissioner for Examinations. This was done, and Ext. P7 dated 18-7-1974 is a copy of the application before the Commissioner. The correction prayed for was allowed by order of the Commissioner dated 15-11-1974 of which Ext. P-1 is a copy, Ext. P 2 being a copy of the corrected certified extract from the Vernacular School Leaving Certificate. Thereafter and on the strength, presumably, of Exts. P-1 and P-2, the petitioner applied by Ext. P-3 dated 7-4-1975 to the Assistant Educational Officer for correction of the entry as to the date of birth in the service records This was rejected by Ext. P-4 order of the Government rejecting the proposal of the Director of Public Instruction. The writ petition was to quash P-4 order.

3. The learned judge was of the view that the correction as to the date of birth having been made in the school records, a corresponding correction of the date of birth had to be made in the service-book as well. The material part of the learned judge's judgment reads as follows:

"In such circumstances, I do not see why the bona fides of the petitioner's claim should be still in doubt I am of the view that a corresponding correction of the petitioner's date of birth has to be made in the service book as well. He is entitled to be treated as a person liable to retire only on 27-10-1977. I therefore direct the Ist respondent to pass appropriate orders on the basis of the relevant entries in the petitioner's school records as corrected by the Commissioner for Government Examinations by his Ext. P-1 order."

4. We are unable to share the learned judge's view. The jurisdiction of the Government to correct entries in the service register fell for consideration in a number of decisions of this Court. It is enough to refer to O P. No. 3500 of 1972 decided by one of us (myself) and to W.A. No. 7 of 1974 which arose as an off-shoot of the proceedings dealt with in the earlier mentioned writ petition. These have examined the relevant G. Os on the subject. See further, the decision in Narayanan v. State of Kerala (ILR.1977 (1) Kerala 562), and in W. A. 361 of 1976 and W. A. 6 of 1977. We desire to point out that while the G. Os. dealt with the correction of the date of birth in service records relating to Government, servants, there was, till recently, no G. O for correction of an entry as to the date of birth in the service register of a private aided school teacher like the petitioner. The omission was supplied by G. O Ms. 139/76/G. Edn. dated 17-7-1976 by which G. O MS. 39/72/PD dt 22-1-1972 applicable to Government servants for correction of entry as to date of birth and a later G. O. (G. O. Ms.123/75/PD. dt.16-6-1975), were made applicable to private aided teachers as well. There was provision in this G. O. of 17-7-1976 that all pending applicatio