Correction of date of birth at the end of service is not permissible, and compassionate appointment requires immediate distress and timely representation.

( 1 ) HEARD Sri S. S. Tripathi, advocate, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Anil Mehrotra, advocate on behalf of contesting respondents Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

( 2 ) RESPONDENTS were granted time for filing counter-affidavit. Meanwhile a supplementary-affidavit was filed and respondents were required to file counter-affidavit/ supplementary - counter - affidavit annexing therewith extract photo stat copy of the Service book in which date of birth of the petitioners husband (Lakshmi Narain Sharma) was recorded.

( 3 ) COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT and a supplementary-counter-affidavit have been filed today in the Court which have been accepted and taken on record.

( 4 ) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner stated that he does not propose to file rejoinder-affidavit/ supplementary-rejoinder-affidavit and argued the case on merit.

( 5 ) HENCE the Court proceeds to hear the case on merit and decide it as per record before it.

( 6 ) PETITIONER, Smt. Bimlesh Sharma, is the wife of deceased Lakshmi Narain Sharma. She claimed that her husband was wrongly retired in 1992, he was entitled to continue till 1996, her husband was retired prematurely ignoring discrepancies in the Service Book which disclosed that in the column of date of birth, age of the petitioners husband was mentioned as 36 years and date of birth 17. 2. 1934 which did not reconcile. According to the petitioner, her husband joined service in 1974 and if 1934 is deducted from 1974 it will be 40 years and not 36 years (as mentioned in Service Book ).

( 7 ) PETITIONER pleaded, vide Para 15 of the Writ Petition, that the date of birth of her husband was 1936 and hence he should have been retired in the year 1996. In the writ petition, however, there is no averment, that the petitioner joined the department for the first time in the year 1974. Submission of the petitioner is thus based on assumption that petitioners husband joined the department for first time in 1974.

( 8 ) IN Para 16 of the Writ Petition, it is mentioned that petitioner filed representations dated 6. 7. 1995, 15. 8. 1996, 3. 9. 1997 (Annexures 6, 7, and 8 to the Writ Petition respectively) for treating the date of birth of the deceased employee (husband of the petitioner) as 17. 2. 1936 ; on that basis he had to retire on 17. 2. 1996 ; the employee died out of shock in April, 1992 (after two months of his impugned retirement - w. e. f. 29. 2. 1992) and the eldest son of the deceased employee should have been offered appointment on compassionate ground treating Lakshmi narain (the employee in service at the time of his death ).

( 9 ) IN Paras 4, 10 and 12 of the supplementary-affidavit, petitioner changed her stand by alleging that the date of birth of her deceased husband was 17. 2. 1938. Shifting of stand, as is evident on comparing the averments in the writ petition vis- a-vis supplementary-affidavit is conspicuous. It shows that petitioner was not sure of the date of birth of her husband.

( 10 ) IN supplementary-affidavit also, there is no categorical statement to the effect that deceased husband of the petitioner (Lakshmi Narain Sharma) joined department for the first time in the year 1974.

( 11 ) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner, however, referred to Para 4 of the supplementary-affidavit wherein it is stated that the date of birth of the husband of the petitioner is 17. 2. 1938 and the date of appointment as 17. 2. 1974. As noted above there is no categorical pleading that petitioner joined the department for the first time in the year 1974.

( 12 ) THE petitioner (wife of the deceased employee) has claimed two reliefs in the present petition viz ; (i) the Court may decide date of birth of the petitioners husband (Lakshmi Narain Sharma)as 17. 2. 1938 in consonance with the letter dated 31. 8. 1994 of the Superintending Engineer and give entire retirement benefits counting the period of 28 years service from 17. 2. 1974 the date of appointment till 8. 4. 1992, the date of death, and (ii) the responde