IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU WRIT PETITION No.17024 of 2011 Date:27.06.2011 Between: S.K. Afzal .....Petitioner AND The A.P.S.R.T.C., rep. By its Managing Director, Hyderabad and another ....Respondents The Court made the following: THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU WRIT PETITION No.17024 of 2011 ORDER: This writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to declare the impugned notification issued under Proceedings No.E2/693(1)/2011-WL-2 dated 1.1.2011 proposing the petitioner to retire from service w.e.f 30.6.2011 by altering his date of birth as 19.6.1953 instead of 19.12.1953 is illegal and arbitrary and contrary to the date of birth recorded in the service register, in violation of principles of natural justice and violation of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India and consequently direct the respondents to continue the services of the petitioner till he attains his original date of superannuation i.e., 31.12.2011 in the interest of justice. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents. The brief facts that are necessary for disposal of the present writ petition may be stated as follows: The petitioner has been selected by the selection committee to the post of driver and joined the service of the respondents in the year 1978 and his services were regularised with effect from 07.01.1979, that his selection is based on the verification of his driving license issued by the concerned R.T.A authorities on 12.04.1974, wherein his date of birth was recorded as 19.12.1953 and the same was taken into consideration while he was appointed as driver. The petitioner is a member of APSRTC Employees Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society Limited, Hyderabad wherein also his date of birth was shown as 19.12.1953. He is also a member of APSRTC Employees Provident Fund and in the Account slips issued by the Corporation also his date of birth was mentioned as 19.12.1953. It is stated that to his utter surprise, the respondents corporation served the impugned proceedings to the petitioner in the month of May, 2011 mentioning his date of retirement as 30.06.2011 falsely showing his date of birth as 19.6.1953 and immediately on receipt of the impugned proceedings, the petitioner got issued a legal notice to the respondents on 4.6.2011 stating that he never mentioned his date of birth as 19.5.1953, but the respondents having received the legal notice neither dropped the notification nor made any attempts to verify the records and hence the petitioner has filed this writ petition. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that even though the date of birth of the petitioner was recorded in the service register as 19.12.1953, the respondent/corporation even without verifying the said register issued the impugned proceedings to the petitioner showing his date of retirement as 30.06.2011 and hence the same may be set aside. On the other hand, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondent corporation produced the entire case file relating to the petitioner and all the relevant documents including the personal data sheet which was given by the petitioner to the respondents at the time of joining in service as driver as well as the application submitted by the petitioner for the purpose of Provident Fund and all the relevant documents filed by him, showing that the date of birth of the petitioner is 19.12.1953. The respondents even without giving any notice and opportunity to substantiate his case changed his date of birth as 19.06.1953. Even the earliest documents and other documents would clearly go to show that the petitioner’s date of birth is 19.12.1953 and the respondents ought not to have changed the date of birth of the petitioner arbitrarily without giving any notice to him basing on the medical certificate issued by the doctor. Hence, the impugned order of the respondents is set aside directing the respondents to continue the petitioner in service as driver till 31.12.2011. Subject to the above observations, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. ________________ K.C. BHANU, J. June, 27, 2010 Gk. THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU WRIT PETITION No.17024 of 2011 27th June, 2011 Gk.