WP(C) 2802/2009 BEFORE HON’BLE MR JUSTICE B.K. SHARMA.. Heard Mr. R. Goswami, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Ms R . Chakraborty, learned Addl. Sr. Govt. Advocate. By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for a directio n to the respondents to accept his date of birth as 31.12.1953 in place of recor ded date of birth as 31.12.1950 and to allow him to continue in service on that basis. It is an admitted position that the petitioner, while entering into the services of the respondents in the year 1974, accepted his date of birth as 15.3 .1950. As a token of acceptance of the said date of birth recorded in the Servi ce Book, the petitioner duly affixed his signature and thump impression. The pet itioner continued in service on that basis and thereafter, just at the eve of re tirement, only in the year 2004 after 30 years, he claimed that his actual date of birth is 31.12.1953. He had submitted a formal application for change of date of birth in the year 2007. The petitioner retired from service on 31.12.2010 on attaining the age of susperannuation. According to the petitioner, he being Gra de-IV employee and virtually an illiterate person, was not aware of recording o f his date of birth as 31.12.1950 in the Service Book. The petitioner has place d reliance on Annexure-A/1 certificate dated 31.8.1999 purportedly issued by the school, in which, he had studied to show that his actual date of birth is 31.12 .1953. As per the said certificate, he left the school in 1968. If that be so, i t is not understood as to why the certificate was issued after long 31 years. Law is well settled regarding change of date of birth in the Service Boo k. In case of any mistake in recording the date of birth, same should be pointe d out at the earliest opportunity. Further, as per the note appended to S.R. 8( c), no alteration in the date of birth of a Government servant should be allowed except in very rare case when manifest mistake has been made. Further, in no ca se, request for change of date of birth of a Government servant made on a date w ithin 3 years of the date of actual superannuation should be entertained. In the instant case, the petitioner made a request just before his retirement on attai ning the age of superannuation. It is not a case of any manifest mistake. In view of the above, there is no merit in the writ petition and accordi ngly, it is dismissed.