Holding

The amended Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56(m) applies to all government servants, including those already in service before the amendment, and the respondent's plea for correction of his date of birth is maintainable.

Summary

Shri M.A. Wahab joined the National Airport Authority in 1957 with his date of birth recorded as 1 January 1934. After passing his matriculation in 1962, a certificate indicated his birth as 1 March 1939, and in 1990 he applied to have his service record corrected. The Authority refused and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) allowed the correction, holding that the amended Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56(m) applied only to employees appointed after 15 December 1979 and that Wahab had given his original date under "compelling circumstances". On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the amendment to Note 5 applies to all government servants, including those already in service before the amendment, and that the correction request was not time‑barred nor based on any compelling circumstance. The Court found the CAT’s findings unsupported by the record and set aside its order, allowing the appeal.

Issues considered

Whether the amendment to Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56(m) applies to government servants already in service before its commencement.
Whether the respondent's request for correction of date of birth is barred by the five‑year limitation under the note.
Whether the respondent gave his date of birth under "compelling circumstances" at the time of appointment.
Whether the CAT correctly exercised its jurisdiction under Section 19 of the Central Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985.

Legislation cited

Subjects

date of birth correctionFundamental Rule 56(m)Administrative Tribunals Acttime bargovernment service recordsCentral Administrative TribunalUnion of India v. Hamam Singh

Judgment

A THE NATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
v. ·•
t
SHRI M.A. WAHAB

APRIL 29, 1994

B [S.C. AGRAWAL AND M.K. MUKHERJEE[

Seroice Laiv!Civil Se1vices :

Fundamental Rule 56 (m) Note 5 and Administrative Refonns Notifica·
c tion dated November 30, 1979--Correction of date of birth in service
record-Plea barred by tim~Tribunal holding Note applicable only to those
retiring after December 15, 1979-Held, Tribunal's finding unsustainable.

Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, S.19--Correction of date of birth
in service record-Tribunal allowing plea for correcting date of birth from
D January 1, 1934 to March 1, 1939-Held, Tribunal's findings not borne out
by the records.

The service book prepared at the time of the Respondent joining the
appellant's services showed his date of birth as January I, 1934. After the
E respondent passed the matriculation examination an entry regarding this
qualification was made in his service book. Not heeding to the respondent's
request on June 4, 1990 to correct his date of birth as March I, 1939 as
shown in the matriculation certificate, the appellant asked him to retire
on December 31, 1991.

F The respondent's application was allowed by the Central Ad·
ministrative Tribunal which held that the respondent gave his date of birth
as January 1,1934 under compelling circumstances and that Note 5 of
Fundamental Rule 56(m) as substituted by an Administrative Reforms ,.
Notification dated November 30, 1979 requiring all claims for correction •
G of date birth by government servants to be made within live years of entry
into service applied only to those· employed after December 15, 1979.

Allowing the appeal, this Court

HELD: I. The amended Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56 (m) applies ,
H also to government servants already in service before December 15, 1979;
800

""
1'ATIONALAIRPORT AUTHORITY, .. M.A. WAHAB IYl.K. ~!LKHERJEE . .l.J 801

"' they may seek correction of date of birth not later than five year after the A
amendment. The Tribunal's finding cannot be sustained. [807-D, 806-H)

Union of India v. Hamam Singh, [1993) 2 SCC 162, applied

1.2. It cannot be said that the respondent had given his date of birth
as January 1, 1934 under compelling circumstances. Indeed, the respon- B
dent did not raise such plea even in the application. [806-H)

1.3. In the instant case, none of the findings of the Tribunal is borne
out by the records, and hence cannot be sustained. [806-H]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 3935-36 c
of 1994.

From the Judgment and Order dated 20.5.92 & 8.9.92 of the Central
Administrative Tribunal, Gauhati Bench in 0.A. No. 243/91 & R.A. No.
17 of 1992.
, D
Ms. Rachna Joshi Issar for the Appellant.

P.K. Goswami, Rajeev Mehta and Kailash Vasdev for the Respon-
dent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by E
M.K. MUKERJEE, J. Special leave granted.

In these appeals the appellant assails 1he decision of the Cenlral
Administrative Tribunal, ('Tribunal' for short) Gauhati Bench, whereby the
respondent's application for alternation of his date of birth from January F
1, 1934, as appearing in his service record 1 to March 1, 1939 has been
allowed.
f:
The respondent joined the :-.crvicc of the cippellant a:-. a peon on
October 15, 1957. Al the lime of his entry into the service his service book
1 was prepared with his date of hirlh recorded as January 1, 1934 and G
' educational qualification as read uplo Class IX. Later on in 1962 the
respondent passed the matriculation examination of the Gauhati University
• and on the basis of a certificate dated August 27, 1962 issued by H.M .
Thanga H.E. School Gauhati an entry regarding this qualification was
... made in his service hook. Consequent upon his success in the matriculation H
802 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] 3 S.C.R.

A examination the respondent got the job of a clerk and in due course he
was promoted to the post of Senior Assistant in the office of the Senior
Aerodrome Officer, Civil Aerodrome, Imphal. While so employed he sent
an application to the appellant on June 4, 1990 along with a photostat copy
of hi~ n1atriculation certificate vvith a request to remove the \vrong entry of
his date of birth as appearing in the :;ervice book and correct it as f\.1arch
B J, 1939, as appearing in the certificate. The appellant did not heed to his
request and, on the contrary, relying upon the dale of birth as appearing
in the service hook asked him to retire on December 31, 1991 by its
memorandum dated September12, 1991. On receipt of that memorandum
the respondent made yet another representation which was also turned
c down. He then filed an application before the Tribunal in accordance with
Section 19 of the Central Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985 which cul-
minated in the impugned order dated May 20, 1992. An application
preferred by the appellant for review of the above order was rejected.

From the impugned order we find that the reasons which principally
D weighed with the Tribunal in allowing the application of the respondent
are as under :

(i) though appellant claimed that the respondent's date of birth was
recorded as January l, 1934 in the service book on the basis of school
E certificate furnished at the time of appointment, neither any document nor
the service book was produced to substantiate such claim;

(ii) though the respondent had, along with his letter dated August
2.'1, 1962 forwarded his matriculation certificate, which showed his date of
bj1th as March 1, 1939, for making necessary correction in the service book ...1

F in ac'cordance therewith no action was taken by the appellant; and

(iii) the certificate issued by the Sub-Registrar, Birth and Death of
Imphal Municipality indicated that the respondent's date of birth as
ri.:cnrdeLI in thl'.ir registcr tallied \Vith the date as appearing in the
n1at.ricuJation certificate.
G
On perusal of the records, we are constrained to say that none of the
abuvc findings is borne out thereby. Besides other documents, the respon-
dent himself enclosed a copy of the service record as Annexure A/2 to his •
application filed before the Tribunal and in that record it has been clearly
H mentioned that his date of birth was 1.1.1934 as per the school certificate.
NATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY'· M.A. WAHAB (M.K:MUKHERJEE.J.( 803

That apart in paragraph 3 of the application he stated that at the time of A
his appointment he had read upto Class IX and a school certificate issued
in that behalf was produced (before the appellant) in proof of his educa-
tional qualifications and that in that school certificate it was alleged that
his date of birth was recorded as 1.1.1934.

As regards the second finding we may first refer to the averments B
made by the respondent in paragraphs 5 and 6 of his application. In
paragraph 5 he stated that with the permission of the Authority (the
appellant) he appeared in and passed the matriculation examination of
the University of Gauhati in the year 1962 and as per the matriculation
certificate his age, as on March 1, 1962 was 23 years. In support of this C
statement he enclosed a true copy of the duplicate matriculation certificate,
as Annexure N3, which he claimed was issued to him by the University of
Gauhati on September 1, 1962. In paragraph 6 of the application he stated,
inter alia, that he had enclosed that copy along with the letter he had sent
to to the Aerodrome Officer, Civil Aviation, Imphal on August 28,1962 for D
entry of his educational qualifications and correction of the date of birth
in his service book. A copy of the letter was also enclosed as Annexure N4
to the application. On perusal of this letter we find that thereby the
respondent had informed the Aerodrome Officer that he had passed his
matriculation examination successfully from University of Gauhati in the
year 1962 and that he was enclosing a certificate to that effect in original E
for perusal and for making necessary entry in the service book. The
certificate {Annexure N3) which the respondent claimed to have enclosed
with that letter read as under :

"UNIVERSITY OF CiAUllATI
F
1962
MATRICULATION CERTIFICATE
(Duplicate certificate) No. 000224

I certify that Muhammad Abdul Wahab Mia Diphu Roll No ........ .
27, aged 23 years X months X days on the First of March, 1962 duly passed G
the Matriculation Examination, 1962 of this University and was placed in
the Third Division.

GAUHATI, ASSAM Countersigned by
The 1st Sept., 1962 Sd/- Sd/- C. Das H
804 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] 3 S.C.R.

A Registrar Registrar
,.
Date : 16.5.62"

It,.however, appears from unimpeachable materials produced before
us that the respondent did not enclose copy of any Matriculation Certifi-
cate (Annexure A/3) with the letter dated August 28, 1962 but had only
B enclosed a certificate dated August 27, 1962 issued by the Headmaster of
a school to say that he had passed the matriculation examination of 1962
and that he was aged 22 years on March 1, 1962. Indeed, copy of a
matriculation certificate purportedly issued on September 1, 1962 could not
have been enclosed with a letter which the respondent claimed to have sent
c on August 28, 1962. The other document which intrinsically and conclusive-
ly proves that matriculation certificate could not have been issued in favour
of the respondent on September 1, 1962 is the letter dated June 6, 1964
written by the Registrar of Ganhati University in reply to the letter of the
Aerodrome Officer dated April 24, 1964. When by the later the Aerodrome
Officer requested the Registrar to confirm whether Mohd. Abdul Wahab
D
Mia (the respondent) had passed the matriculation examination of 1962
and, if so, whether the University had issued certificate for the same, the
Registrar intimated that though he had passed the matriculation examina-
lion of the year 1962 certificate of that year had not till then been issued
to the respective schools. In such circumstances the appellant cannot be
E blamed for not incorporating the date of birth as appearing in the certifi-
cate issued by the School, which was only ·enclosed with the letter dated
August 28, 1962, more particularly when his specific request was for change
in his educational qualification - which was duly acceded to - and not for
the change iri date of birth. It \\ill be pertinent to point here that according
to this certificate the respondent's date of birth will be 1.1.40 and not 1.1.39. ;
F
It appears to us that the respondent advisedly did not insist upon correc-
tion of his date of birth on the basis of the school certificate for in that
case he would have been ineligible for entry into Government service in
1957.

G Coming now to the third finding of the Tribunal, we notice that the
certificate purportedly issued by the Sub-Registrar, Birth and Death Im- l
phal Municipality is dated 10.11.1989. It, however, appears that the appel-
lant wrote to the Municipal authorities to ascertain the authenticity of the •
above certificate and in reply thereto they were told that the Registration
H of Birth and Death Act, 1969 came into force in the State of Manipur with
:-CATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY •·.MA WAHAB \M.K MUKHERJEE. J.j 805

effect from January I, 1971 and that therefore the birth of Shri Mohammad A
Abdul Wahab Mia son of Late Haji Tomcha Mia (the respondent) could
not have been recorded in their register on November 10, 1989. The
Municipality further stated that on examination they found the certificate
to be a fake one. Ho\vever, according to the Municipality, they issued a
non.registration certificate to the respondent on December 4, 1991 on the
basis of an affidavit sworn before the Court of the Judicial Magistrate,
B
Imphal in May, 1990 showing his date of birth as March 1, 1939.

Apart from the above infirmities in the impugned order, we find that
the Tribunal failed to appreciate the other contentions raised on behalf of
the appellant in opposing the application of the respondent. The appellant C
had contended before the Tribunal that the request made by the respon-
dent in June, 1990 for correcting the date of birth could not be entertained
because till March, 1990 the respondent had, in all matters connected with
his service mentioned January 1, 1934 as the date of his birth. In support
of this contention the appellant had relief upon the following documents
executed by the respondent : D
(i) application filed by him on January 11, 1978 for withdrawal of
provident fund;

(ii) particulars furnished by him on March 7, 1980 for preparation
of seniority list; E

(iii) declaration made by him on February 20, 1990 for family
nomination and

(iv) bio-data submitted by him on March 8, 1990 for claiming
pension and terminal benefits. F

The other contention raised by the appellant against entertainment
of the request was that it was barred by time. In support of this c·mtention
they had relied upon Note 5 of Fundamental Rules 56(m) governing
correction of date of birth in the service record, substituted by Government G
of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Ad-
ministrative Reforms Notification No. 19017179/fatt-A dated November 30,
1979 published as S.O. 3997 in the Government of India Gazette dated
December 15, 1979. The said Note reads as under :
11
Not~ 5 - The date on \vhich a Gcvernment servant attains the age H
806 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] 3 S.C.R.

A of fifty-eight years or sixty years, as the case may be, shall be
determined with reference to the date of birth declared by the
Government servant at the time of appointment and accepted by
the appropriate authority on production, as far as possible, of
confirmatory documentary evidence such as High School or Higher
Secondary or Secondmy School Certificate or extracts from Birth
B Register. The date of birth so declared by the Government servant
and accepted by the appropriate authority shall not be subject to
any alteration except as specified in this note. An alteration of date
of birth of a Government servant can be made, with the sanction
of a Ministry or Department of the Central Government or the
c Comptroller and Auditor General in regard to persons serving in
the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, or an administrator
of a Union Territory under which the Governn1ent servant is
serving if -

(a) a request in this regard is made within five years of his entry
D into Government service;

(b) it is clearly established that a genuine bona fide mistake has
occurred; and

(e) the date of birth so altered would not make him ineligible lo
E appear in any school or University or Union Public Service
Commission examination in which he had appeared, or for
entry into Government service on the date on which he first
appeared at such examination or on the date on which he
entered Government service.!!
F
In negativing the above two contentions of the appellant, the Tribunal
observed that the respondent gave his date of birth as January 1, 1934 in
the above documents under compelling circumstances and that the above
quoted note had no application to the case of the respondent as he was
G appointed long before the same came into effect. Both the grounds can-
vassed by_\he Tribunal to repudiate the contentions of the appellant cannot
be sustained. There is nothing on record from which it can be said that the
appellant had given his date of birth as January 1, 1934 under compelling
circumstances. Indeed, the respondent did not raise any such plea even in
the application. The Tribunal's finding that the above not is applicable only .,
H to persons employed after December 15, 1979, cannot be sustained in view
NATIONALAIRPORTAUTHORI1Y "-M.A. WAHAB [M.K. MUKHERJEE.J.[ 807

of the judgment of this Court in Union of India v. Hamam Singh, (1993] A
2 SCC 162 wherein this Court while interpreting the above quoted note
observed as follows:

"It could not be the intention of the rule-making authority to give
unlimited time to seek correction of date of birth, after 1979, to
those government servants who had joined the service prior to 1979 B
but restrict it to the five year period for these who enter service
after 1979. Indeed, if a Government servant, already in service for
a long time, had applied for correction of date of birth before 1979,
it would not be permissible to non-suit him on the ground tha\ he
had not applied for correction within give years of his entry into C
service, but the case of Government servant who applied for
correction of date of birth only after 1979 stands on a different
footing It would be appropriate and in tune with harmonious con-
struction of the provision to hold that in the case of those Govem-
ment seroants who were already in service before 1979, for a period.
of more than five years, and who intended to have their date of birth D
corrected after 1979, may seek the correction of date of birth within
a reasonable time after 1979 but in any event not later than five years
after the coming into force of the amendment in 1979. This view
would be in consonance with the intention of the role-making
authon·ty. " E
( em~hasis supplied)

On the conc.:lusions as above, we allow these appeals and set aside
the impugned orders of the Tribunal. There shall, however, be no order
as to costs.
F
S.M. Appeal allowed.