JUDGMENT :

The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondents to correct the date of birth of the petitioner as ‘06.04.1969’ in place of ‘24.07.1963’ in his service records including Form-B, service excerpts, CMPF records etc.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that pursuant to the judgment dated 18.11.2009 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 3962 of 2006, 25 persons including the petitioner were appointed as General Mazdoor Category-1 vide office order dated 23/25.03.2011 issued by the respondent No.3 wherein the petitioner’s age was recorded as 47 years 6 months as on 24.01.2011 on the basis of assessment made by the Apex Medical Board, Koyla Nagar Hospital, Dhanbad. At the time of appointment, the petitioner had submitted documentary proof i.e. Admit Card issued by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) for appearing in Annual Secondary School Examination, 1986 wherein his date of birth was shown as 06.04.1969. However, the respondents wrongly recorded the petitioner’s date of birth as 24.07.1963 in his service book on the basis of his age assessed by the said Medical Board which is contrary to Implementation Instruction No. 76 of the National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA)-III. Though the petitioner had appeared in the said Matriculation Examination conducted by the BSEB in the year 1986, however, he could not pass the said examination and hence he did not collect his marks sheet. Subsequently, in order to make out his ground, he obtained Transfer Certificate from the concerned High School on 29.09.2016 and Matriculation marks sheet from the BSEB on 29.06.2019 and produced the same before the respondent No.5 for necessary correction in his date of birth, but the same has not yet been corrected.

3. According to learned counsel for the petitioner, Implementation Instruction No. 76 of NCWA-III (Annexure-I) contains the procedure for determination/verification of the age of an employee, Clause (A)(ii) of which stipulates the procedure regarding age determination of employees at the time of appointment, who are non-matriculate, but educated. As per the said procedure, if the appointees have pursued studies in a recognized educational institution, the date of birth recorded in the School Leaving Certificate shall be treated as correct date of birth and the same will not be altered under any circumstances. Further, Clause (A)(iv) contains the procedure of age determination of illiterate employees, as per which if the appointees are not covered under sub-clause (i), (ii) & (iii) of Clause (A), the date of birth will be determined by the Colliery Medical Officer keeping in view any documentary and other relevant evidence as produced by them.

4. It is further submitted that the NCWA is a bilateral agreement between the respondents and the employees and any action contrary to the same is bad in law. The age determined by the Medical Board will not supersede the documentary proof disclosing the petitioner’s correct date of birth as 06.04.1969 since entry of the same is much prior to the date of assessment of his age made by the said Medical Board as well as the date of his appointment.

5. Per-contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the petitioner’s age was assessed as 47 years and 6 months as on 24.01.2011 by the Age Assessment Board according to which, his date of birth is 24.07.1963. The said date of birth has been mentioned in all the records of the respondent BCCL viz service book and Form-B etc. The petitioner has also signed the relevant portions of different records duly accepting and acknowledging the correctness of the entries made therein. He never raised any objection whatsoever regarding the entries relating to his date of birth made in various records of the respondent-BCCL for more than 10 years. However, he has filed the present writ petition in the year 2021 at the fag end of his service as he is going to retire on 30.07.2023 on attaining th