Patna High Court
Guriya KumariversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- AJIT KUMAR
Holding
The Court held that the trivial error in the date of birth must be corrected and directed the BSEB to do so.
Summary
Guriya Kumari filed a writ petition seeking a mandamus directing the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) to correct her date of birth on the result sheet and admit card for the Secondary Teacher Eligibility Test 2025, where it was mistakenly entered as 05.03.1993 instead of 15.03.1993. She argued that the error was inadvertent and that the official records uploaded with her application reflect the correct date. The Board contended that the matter was already before its Secretary and that a decision was pending. The Court, relying on precedents such as Vashist Narayan Kumar and Prince Jaibir Singh, held that the error was trivial and did not affect the selection process, warranting correction. Accordingly, the Court directed the Secretary of BSEB to adjudicate and make the necessary corrections within two weeks, and disposed of the writ petition.
Issues considered
- Whether a trivial clerical error in the date of birth on an eligibility test application justifies a mandamus directing correction of the result sheet and admit card.
Subjects
- date of birth correction
- trivial error
- mandamus
- eligibility test
- result sheet correction
- administrative law
- Bihar School Examination Board
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.4444 of 2026
======================================================
Guriya Kumari D/o Shavind Sharma, R/o Ward No. 15, Jagmal Bigha, P.O.
and P.S.-Katauna, District- Patna.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of
Education, Govt. of Bihar, Patna
2. The Director, Secondary Education, Govt. of Bihar, Patna
3. The Bihar School Examination Board, Patna through its Chairman
4. The Secretary, Bihar School Examination Board, Patna
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shambhu Sharan Kumar, Advocate
For the Respondent/s : Mr. Kumar Alok, Standing Counsel (07)
For the BSEB : Mr. P. K. Shahi, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Kumar Anjaneya Shanu, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AJIT KUMAR
ORAL ORDER
2 31-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
counsel for the State.
2. The writ petition has been filed for the following
reliefs :-
i) To issue a writ/order/direction in the
nature of mandamus directing the Respondent
Authorities to revise the result sheet as well as
admit card of petitioner for Secondary Teacher
Eligibility Test, 2025 of the Bihar School
Examination Board bearing BSEB Unique ID-
5252260021595, Application No. BS25485599,
Roll No.-2511021088 issued to her by mentioning
the petitioner's correct date of birth as 15.03.1993
Patna High Court CWJC No.4444 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
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in place of her date of birth wrongly mentioned as
05.03.1993.
ii) To grant any other relief or reliefs for
which the petitioner is found to be entitled in the
facts and circumstances of the case.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
appropriate representation with regard to correction of date of
birth, which has inadvertently been mentioned as 05.03.1993 in
place of 15.03.1993, may be directed to be decided by the
authorities of Bihar School Examination Board by referring to
the official records, which was uploaded by this petitioner while
filling up the application form.
4. It has next been submitted, by referring to
Annexure-P/9, that the case of the petitioner is also similar to a
case which has already been adjudicated by a Co-ordinate
Bench of this Court in the case of Arun Kumar Roy v. The
State of Bihar and Others (C.W.J.C. No.13232 of 2025) and the
relevant portion of the said order is extracted hereunder :-
9. In the aforementioned premise, it would
be pertinent to take note of the decision rendered in
the case of Vashist Narayan Kumar (supra). The
Hon'ble Supreme Court, while considering a case
where a student has mistakenly given an incorrect
date of birth and was thereby resultantly ousted
from the zone of consideration, the Court held that
Patna High Court CWJC No.4444 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
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it is a trivial error in an application which plays no
part in the selection process and taking into
account the facts and circumstances of the case,
allowed the appeal. It would be apt and proper to
encapsulate paragraph no. 19 of the decision of the
Vashist Narayan Kumar (supra) which reads as
follows:-
"19. In this case, the appellant
has participated in the selection
process and cleared all the stages
successfully. The error in the
application is trivial which did not
play any part in the selection process.
The State was justified in making a
mountain out of this molehill. Perhaps
the rarefied atmosphere of the
cybercafe, got the better of the
appellant. He omitted to notice the
error and even failed to avail the
corrective mechanism offered. In the
instant case, we cannot turn a
Nelson's eye to the ground realities
that existed. In the order dated 22-11-
2021 in Prince Jaibir Singh v. Union
of India [Prince Jaibir Singh v. Union
of India, (2024) 11 SCC 793], this
Court rightly observed that though
technology is a great enabler, there is
at the same time, a digital divide."
10. Undisputedly, there was an inadvertent
mistake at the time of filing of the online
application and the gender of the petitioner has
been mistakenly mentioned as female instead of
male and for rectification of which the petitioner
has filed several representation and approached
Patna High Court CWJC No.4444 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
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before all the authorities concerned, but the same
could not be done because of the stipulations made
in the advertisement, however this fact cannot be
ignored, the petitioner has been allowed to appear
in the examination and he successfully passed; had
the candidature of the petitioner not been valid, he
should not have been allowed to appear in the
examination. Once the petitioner was allowed to
appear in the examination where he successfully
passed and secured much above the cut-off marks
under the Male-EBC category and consequent
whereupon the appointment letter as well as
joining letter has also been issued, the joining of
the petitioner cannot be denied on account of such
trivial mistake as occurred at the time of
submission of the application form.
5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the Bihar
School Examination Board, submits that since the representation
has already been filed before the Secretary, Bihar School
Examination Board, which is appended with the writ petition as
Annexure-P/3 and as such, necessary decision shall be taken for
which this Court may appropriately direct.
6. Considering the submission of the parties, this
Court finds it appropriate to direct the Secretary, Bihar School
Examination Board, to adjudicate the issues raised by this
petitioner, within a period of two weeks from today by making
necessary corrections in reference to the official records and in
Patna High Court CWJC No.4444 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
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case, the petitioner’s assistance is required then through
appropriate communication, the same shall be achieved and all
necessary exercise in light of the judgment of Hon’ble Apex
Court, be completed within the time so allowed and after
making necessary corrections, the same shall be communicated
to the petitioner for exploring his future avenues.
7. Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of.
(Ajit Kumar, J)
sharun/-
U
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