Ajit Kumar Sengupta, J. - (1.) In this application under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner's grievance is that his date of birth was not correctly recorded in his service record in due compliance with Rule 145(1) of the Railway Establishment Code, Volume 1.
(2.) The petitioner was initially appointed as Khalasi in Class IV category in Loco Shop No. 4, Kanchrapara Railway Workshop in May, 1944. At present he is posted as Drop Stamper High Still, Grade-1, Shop No. V,-Kanchrapara Workshop of the Eastern Railway. It is the case of the petitioner that after his appointment in the Railway Service, the petitioner was never asked to produce any document for the purpose of recording his date of birth in his service record. The petitioner was served with superannuation notice being No. 4/31E dated 30th November, 1981, from where the petitioner came to learn for the first time that his date of birth was not correctly recorded in his service record and as such he was sought to be superannuated in July, 1981. Upon enquiry the petitioner came to know that in his service record the date of birth was recorded as 1st July, 1924 and not 1st May, 1926 which is the correct date of birth of the petitioner according to his school certificate.
(3.) It is the case of the petitioner that he was a student of Upper Primary School, Tara Narahawan and he read upto Class V in the said school. On 16th January, 1941 the Headmaster of the said school issued a transfer certificate to the petitioner from where it would appear that according to the school register the petitioner's date of birth is 1st May, 1926. The said transfer certificate is dated 15th January, 1941 being Annexure 'A' to the writ application. After the petitioner came to know about the incorrect recording of the date of birth in his service record, the petitioner on 5th February, 1982 made a representation to the Additional Chief Electrical Engineer, Eastern ; Railway, Kanchrapara for correction of his recorded date of birth on the basis of the said school certificate. The Additional Chief Electrical Engineer, Kanchrapara by his Memo dated 17th March, 1982 informed the petitioner that his request to alter the recorded date of birth could not be acceded to. No reason was assigned.;