HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No. 9854 OF 1996 Dated 14th November, 2006. Between Sodem Bhagya Lakshmi ….Petitioner and The State of AP Rep. by the Secretary to Govt., Education Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad and ors. ….Respondents. HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY WRIT PETITION No. 9854 OF 1996 ORDER: This Writ Petition has been filed seeking Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents 1 to 4 in not carrying out the corrections to date of birth of the petitioner from 15-05-1965 to 28- 04-1967 in the records relating to SSC as illegal and arbitrary and for a consequential direction to the respondents to correct her date of birth in SSC records and in her passport. In the affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition, it is stated that the petitioner was born in Markapur of Prakasam District on 28- 04-1967. But, however, at the time of admission in the school, her date of birth was wrongly mentioned as 15-05-1965. Later, realizing the mistake, the petitioner filed suit in O.S.No. 3767 of 1985 in the Court of the VIII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Hyderabad against respondents 1 to 4 herein, who were the defendants in the said suit. The said suit was decreed by judgment and decree dated 28-04-1967. As against the same, the respondents had preferred appeal in A.S.No. 158 of 1988 in the Court of the Additional Chief Judge, City Civil court, Hyderabad, which was dismissed by judgment dated 28-09-1992. It is stated that the said judgment has become final and no further appeal is preferred before this Court by way of Second Appeal. In view of the judgment of the trial Court, as confirmed by the lower Appellate Court, the petitioner had made an application to the fourth respondent for correction of her date of birth. Such a request of the petitioner was turned down by the Director of School Education, Andhra Pradesh vide proceedings in D.Dis.No.821/H5/94, dated 12-3-1994, stating that there is no direction in the judgment of the trial Court for correction of date of birth. It is submitted by the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner that as much as there is a declaration from the competent Civil Court with regard to correct date of birth of the petitioner, there is no valid reason for not carrying out the corrections in respect of her date of birth. It is further submitted that as much as the respondents are the public authorities, they are bound by the decree passed by the competent Court of law, and they cannot reject the claim of the petitioner merely on the ground that there is no direction. Though Writ Petition is of the year 1996, no counter affidavit is filed controverting the averments made in the writ petition. In this case, the petitioner sought correction of her date of birth on the ground that mistakenly her date of birth was wrongly entered in the school records and the same was carried in the passport given to her. It is stated that the petitioner is not in service. When the respondents 1 to 4 herein are party defendants in the suit in O.S.No.3767 of 1985, in which case, there is already a declaration that the correct date of birth of the petitioner is 28-04- 1967, the respondents cannot just reject the request of the petitioner merely on the ground that there is no direction from the Court to correct her date of birth. Having regard to the judgment and decree passed by the trial Court in O.S.No. 3767 of 1985, in which respondents 1 to 4 herein were the party defendants, and, further, respondents being the public authorities cannot reject the claim on mere a technicality. The judgment relied on by the learned Counsel for the petitioner in the case of K.Mahadeva Sastry Vs. Director, Post Graduate Centre, Anantapu[1]r fully supports of the plea of the petitioner, wherein such stand of the employer was deprecated by this Court. In that view of the matter, I allow the Writ petition, directing the respondents 1 to 4 to carry out the corrections with regard to date of birth of the petitioner in the school records and issue necessary document by entering correct date of birth as 28- 04-1967, within a period of three months from today. So far as entries in passport are concerned, after effecting necessary corrections in the school records, it is open to the petitioner to make an application to the fifth respondent and if such application is filed with supporting documents, the fifth respondent shall consider and pass appropriate orders on the application of the petitioner. The Writ petition is allowed. No order as to costs. --------------------------------------- JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY DATED: 14-11-2006. Msnr [1] AIR 1982 AP 176