The court emphasized the need for pragmatic interpretation of bylaws regarding date of birth correction, acknowledging no mala fide intent in the petitioner's request.

ORDER :

1. The present petition has been filed seeking following prayers;

a. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondent No. I to rectify the date of the birth of the Petitioner in its records to reflect the correct date of birth i.e. 16.03.1994

b. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondent No. I to issue a fresh Class X Certificate reflecting the actual date of birth of the Petitioner i.e. 16.03.1994, to the Petitioner.

c. Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondent No. 2 School to rectify the date of the birth of the Petitioner in the School Records to reflect the correct date of birth i.e. 16.03.1994

d. Pass any other orders that this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the interests of justice.

2. Dr. Amit George, learned counsel for the petitioner indicates that as reflected in the order dated 10.05.2023, Respondent no.1/CBSE has stated that if respondent no.2 submits a representation to CBSE, the necessary rectification of the petitioner’s date of birth shall be carried out.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the actual date of birth of the petitioner is 16.03.1994 as reflected in the birth certificate, Aadhar Card, Passport, Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the Election card issued by the Election Commission of India. Learned counsel submits that in fact the discrepancies have occurred when the petitioner sought admission in Respondent No.2 – School and a Transfer Certificate was submitted, wherein the date of birth was erroneously recorded as 14.07.1996. The petitioner is now seeking rectification, but Respondent No.2 is not processing the application for correction.

4. Dr. Amit George, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that though the respondent No.2 has filed its counter affidavit, none had been appearing for the respondent after 05.04.2024.

5. The respondent No.2 in their counter affidavit has taken a preliminary objection that the date of birth of the petitioner was recorded on the basis of the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) issued by the Bhuvneshwari Prathmik Avam Paryavaran Vidyalaya, Anjani Sain, Tehri Garhwal. Further, it has also been stated that as per Rule 69.2(iii) of CBSE bylaws, any request for change of date of birth must be made within one year from the date of declaration of results. Since no such application was moved within the stipulated period, the request cannot be entertained. It has also been stated that rectification must first be done at the previous school, failing which contradictions may arise in the records of both schools.

6. Perusal of the record indicates that in all the documents including birth certificate, Aadhar Card, Passport and PAN Card and Election ID, the date of birth of the petitioner has been shown as 16.03.1994. The incorrect date of birth 14.07.1996 has only occurred in the School Leaving Certificate being issued by the previous School.

7. Rule 69.2 of Notification bearing CBSE/board/AS(C)/2017/ dated 01.02.2018 which reads as under;

“69.2 Change in Date of Birth

No change in the date of birth once recorded in the Board's records shall be made.

69.2 (i)

No change in the date of birth once recorded in the Board's records shall be made. However, corrections to correct typographical and other errors to make the certificate consistent with the school records can be made provided that corrections in the school records should not have been made after the submission of application form for admission to Examination to the Board

69.2 (Correction