- (1.) DEMAND of the petitioner against the respondents is for correction of the entry in respect of his date of birth in his service records, as per the School Leaving Certificate, and for which he had prayed in this writ application for an appropriate direction to the respondents.
(2.) COUNTER -affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondent SAIL. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondents.
(3.) THE case of the petitioner in brief is that he was appointed under the respondent SAIL in the Bokaro Steel Plant, Bokaro on 31st March 1973. At the time of his appointment, he had produced his School Leaving Certificate in proof of his date of birth as 7.7.1949. The same date of birth was entered in the proposal form of the petitioners Life Insurance Policy and also in the Medical Book issued by the medical department of the company. On the bonafide belief that his date of birth was correctly entered into his service records, the petitioner did not have any reason either to suspect, nor any occasion to verify his service records as maintained by the respondent employer. It was only on his obtaining the duplicate Medical Book since the original book was misplaced, that he came to learn that in his service book, his date of birth has been incorrectly entered as 7.7.1947 and on such basis, he was informed that he would superannuate in July 2007. The petitioners grievance is that the respondents have made interpolation in his service records and have changed the entry regarding his date of birth to his prejudice and in doing so, they had not even issued any prior notice to him to explain the matters. Such decision having been taken after more than 23 years of his service, is, according to the petitioner, totally illegal, arbitrary and with malafide intention. ;