Hari Swarup, J. - (1.) THIS petition has been filed by a candidate who had appeared at the High School Examination of the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, U.P. conducted for the year 1963. The certificate issued on her passing the examination showed the date of her birth as June 13, 194S. According to the petitioner she was born on June lo, 1949 and this was the date mentioned in the Scholars' Register kept at the School on the basis of the declaration made by the guardian at the time of her admission in the School. The petitioner's case is that by mistake the wrong date of birth had ap peared in the certificate. She made an application for correction of the certificate. The Board has refused to make correction on the ground that it was not due to any clerical error and that the applica tion for correction had been made more than three years after the date on which the certificate had been issued.
(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner has urged that there was no statutory rule prohibiting the Board from making correction if the application for correction is made three years after the date on which the certificate is issued. He also contended that the Board cannot re fuse to make correction if the mistake was not of the Board but of the candidate. From the material that has come on record it cannot be held that the mistake occurred due to any error committed by the Board. There is no assertion that in the application form the peti tioner had mentioned the date of her birth as June 13, 1949 and not June 13, 1948. In view of the order of the Board, and as burden lay on the petitioner to prove the contrary it has to be taken that the mis take has occurred because of her own error in filing the application form. The question then arises, assuming that the mistake is due to the fault of candidate, can she get the certificate corrected? On behalf of the respondent no rule has been cited, which may have statutory force, prohibiting the Board from making the correc tion. Learned Standing Counsel tried to rely on certain departmen tal instructions or correspondence between the Board and the State Government in respect of this matter but as the same has not been shown to have any statutory force it cannot be taken as sufficient to prohibit the Board from making the correction.
(3.) THE examination is held by the Board in accordance with the regular framed under the Intermediate Education Act. The certi ficate is also issued at the time of the conclusion of the examination after the candidate succeeds at the examination. Section 21 of the General Clauses Act provides: "Where, by any Uttar Pradesh Act, a power to issue notifica tions, orders, rules or bye-laws is conferred, then that power in cludes a power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like sanction and conditions (if any), to add, amend, vary or res cind any notifications, orders, rules or bye-laws so issued." ;