- (1.) THIS appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 9.1.2009 passed in W.P.(S) No. 2179 of 2006, by which the writ petition was allowed and the impugned order dated 11.10.2002, as contained in Annexure -2 to the writ petition issued by the respondents, whereby the petitioner has been declared to have retired from service w.e.f. 31.10.2000 was quashed and set aside. The learned Single Judge further directed the respondents -appellants herein to release the entire retiral dues of the petitioner treating his date of birth as 31.10.1942 and also directed to pay the arrears of salary for the period from 1.10.2002 to 31.10.2002, which obviously was a period of one month only. A direction was further issued to the respondents -appellants herein not to recover the retiral/pensionary benefits of the petitioner which he had already availed during the period 31.10.2000 to 30.9.2002.
(2.) THE relevant facts leading up to the filing of this appeal, indicate that the respondent had entered into the service of the appellant -Bihar State Electricity Board (now Jharkhand State Electricity Board) on 19.9.1962 as Khalashi on a class -IV post and at the time of his entry into the service, his date of birth was recorded as 21.10.1940. The petitioner -respondent herein was aggrieved by the entry in regard to his date of birth as according to him it was wrongly recorded. He, therefore, approached the concerned authority for correction of his date of birth as 19.10.1942 and subsequently he also passed matriculation examination in March, 1970. Thereafter he relied upon the matriculation certificate containing his date of birth as 19.10.1942 and requested his controlling authority for correction of his date of birth in the service record. After considering the petitioner's representation and on detailed enquiry, the controlling authority of the petitioner i.e. the Executive Engineer(Civil) Swamrekha Construction Division No. 1, Sikidiri, Ranchi accepted the pleas of the petitioner and directed for correction of his date of birth in the service record of the petitioner -respondent from 20.10.1940 to 20.10.1942. This order was passed by the authority on 25.10.1978. Thus, on this occasion when the rectification of the respondent's date of birth was allowed, his matriculation certificate had been duly relied upon by the appellant -authority on the basis of which the age of the respondent was corrected. The respondent thereafter continued to discharge his duties in the appellant -Organization but only 20 days prior to his retirement, an objection was raised by the appellant -authority that he had wrongly continued in service upto October, 2002 as his date of retirement was due two years prior i.e. in the year 2000. This objection was raised on the ground that the respondent had wrongly got his date of birth rectified by the appellant -authority relying upon his matriculation certificate as the matriculation certificate had been obtained after the respondent entered into service of the appellant -Electricity Board. In view of this objection, an order dated 11.10.2002 vide Annexure -2 was issued against the respondent, declaring that the respondent retired from service w.e.f. 31.10.2000 and not 31.10.2002. Consequently, a direction was also issued to the appellant -authority to forthwith release the retiral dues of the respondent and arrear of salary, treating his date of retirement two years prior to his actual retirement, meaning thereby that, according to the appellants, the respondent should have retired from service on 31.10.2000 itself but wrongly continued in service upto 31.10.2002. On this premises, an order for recovery of the salary of the respondent had been passed against him and it was held that he should be held to have retired two years before i.e. the order of retirement was to be made effective with retrospective effect.
(3.) THE respondent obviously felt aggrieved with the order passed by the appellant -authority, which prompted him to file a writ petition before the learned Single Judge.;