THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.G.SHANKAR W.P.No.5074 of 2010 ORDER (per Sri K.G.Shankar, J) The petitioner is an employee of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. His date of birth was initially shown as 05.02.1951. Subsequently, the date of birth was altered as 04.08.1952. The petitioner contends that he is entitled to continue in service till he attains superannuation on the basis of the altered date of birth as 04.08.1952. 2. The learned Standing Counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, contended that the date of birth for the purpose of the service of the petitioner is 05.02.1951 and that the petitioner is liable to be retired from service treating his date of birth as 05.02.1951 only. The petitioner approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench, Hyderabad (for short ‘the Tribunal’). Through the impugned order, the Tribunal declined to interfere with the order of respondent Nos.1 and 2 that the petitioner’s claim for treating his date of birth as 04.08.1952 cannot be accepted. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner preferred the present writ petition. 3. It is the case of the petitioner that he informed the concerned authorities about his correct date of birth within two years from the date of his joining service in view of the Rule that the employee shall get the date of birth rectified within five years from the date of joining service and that as the correct date of birth was entered in the records, the respondents are not entitled to now turn back and treat the date of birth of the petitioner as 05.02.1951. Admittedly, the petitioner produced the record relating to his date of birth before the authorities within the given time. However, it is the then Administrative Officer, who allegedly effected the alteration of the date of birth of the petitioner in the service record. 4. The learned Standing Counsel contended that the Administrative Officer is not competent to effect alteration of the date of birth of an employee and that it is only the Medical Superintendant, who would be entitled to make such an alteration on the basis of available record. The learned Standing Counsel produced the letter from the then Administrative Officer, who indeed is more than 70 years old now. The then Administrative Officer, who allegedly effected the alteration of the date of birth of the petitioner as 04.08.1952, stated in his letter that he had not incorporated the amendment in the service record of the petitioner. 5. Assuming that the concerned Administrative Officer had chosen to do so, such a rectification by the Administrative Officer is not permissible as the same had not been either ratified or had not been done by the Medical Superintendant. Consequently, the date of birth of the petitioner is liable to be treated as 05.02.1951 only. 6. The learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance upon FR 56 Note 6 of the Fundamental Rules and contended that clerical mistakes are liable to be rectified. There is no dispute that a clerical mistake is always liable to be rectified at any time. However, the alteration of the date of birth in the present case cannot be considered to be a clerical mistake. The alteration allegedly made by the Administrative Officer, according to the petitioner, is not competent to make such an alteration of the date of birth of the petitioner as 04.08.1952, and accordingly, it is nonest. The date of birth of the petitioner is liable to be treated as 05.02.1951. The petitioner indeed brought it to the notice of the authorities within five years from the date of his appointment about the correction needed in his date of birth. However, unfortunately, the alteration/correction effected in the service record of the petitioner is unauthorized and unauthenticated. The Tribunal therefore is justified in declining to interfere with the orders of the respondents. We, therefore, see no error in the order of the Tribunal. There are no merits in this writ petition. The Writ Petition is, accordingly, dismissed. No costs. ______________________ GHULAM MOHAMMED, J _______________ K.G.SHANKAR, J Date:06.04.2011 sj