IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.P.RAY TUESDAY, THE 29TH MARCH 2011 / 8TH CHAITHRA 1933 WA.No. 176 of 2011() -------------------- AGAINST THE JUDGEMENT IN WPC.22809/2010 Dated 21/07/2010 .................... APPELLANT/PETITIONER ------------------------ K.SASIDHARAN PILLAI, SUB-REGISTRAR, SRO, PATHANAPURAM, RESIDING AT KALACHAZHIKATHU VEEDU, KOTTAKKAKOM, PERINAD P.O., KOLLAM. BY ADV. SRI.SHABU SREEDHARAN RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS: ------------------------- 1. STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT TAXES(E) DEPARTMENT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. THE REGISTRATION INSPECTOR GENERAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. G.P. SRI.K.C.SANTHOSH KUMAR FOR R1&2 THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 29/03/2011,THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & BHABANI PRASAD RAY, JJ. .................................................................... Writ Appeal No.176 of 2011 .................................................................... Dated this the 29th day of March, 2011. JUDGMENT Ramachandran Nair, J. Appeal is filed against judgment of the learned Single Judge declining to interfere with the order rejecting appellant's application for correction of date of birth in service records for the reason that application was not filed within the time granted under Ext.P1 notification. We have heard counsel for the appellant and Government Pleader for respondents. 2. Ext.P1 produced in the W.P.(C) is a Government Order dated 30.12.1991 permitting serving Government employees to make application for change of date of birth with valid documents within one year from the date of notification. Admittedly the appellant applied for change of date of birth in the service records on 22.12.1992 and the document produced was original Birth Certificate obtained from the local authority. However, respondents took the view that change of date of birth in the service records could be allowed based on W.A. 176/2011 2 correction in the SSLC book within the time available under Ext.P1 notification. The appellant applied for change of date of birth in the SSLC book on 28.12.1992. However, appellant got the correction carried out in the SSLC book only on 15.1.1997. Event hough the appellant again applied on 20.2.1997 for change of date of birth based on correction of the same carried out in the SSLC book along with copy of SSLC book, the same was rejected for the reason that application is not made in time in terms of Ext.P1. It is against this order the appellant filed the W.P.(C) which was rejected by the learned Single Judge. 3. The appellant's actual date of birth as per the Birth Certificate and the corrected SSLC book is 8.5.1957 and respondents do not doubt the genuineness of the claim. The date of birth recorded in the service records of the appellant based on the original SSLC book which contained wrong date of birth is 4.11.1956. After hearing both sides and after going through records, what we find is that the appellant has made the application for correction of date of birth within the time granted by Ext.P1 notification and in fact separate application for correction of SSLC book was also made within the time granted by W.A. 176/2011 3 Ext.P1. The delay of 5 years from the date of application to correct the SSLC book with regard to date of birth of the appellant is attributable to the various Government Departments and respondents have no case that appellant has delayed it. In our view, appellant has complied with Ext.P1 notification and it was proved with proper documents like Birth Certificate and corrected SSLC book and, therefore, appellant cannot be denied the benefit on account of alleged delay. In the circumstances, we allow the appeal vacating the judgment of the learned Single Judge and direct respondents 1 and 2 to verify the genuineness of the claim with reference to the new documents produced namely, corrected SSLC book and Birth Certificate and to change date of birth in the service records of the appellant, if found correct, without any delay. C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR Judge BHABANI PRASAD RAY Judge pms