Summary
The Supreme Court restored the Single Judge's order rejecting a workman's claim to change his recorded date of birth from 1960 to 1972, holding that a correction sought after 25 years of service, on a school leaving certificate issued only in 2015, could not be entertained, particularly when the service book showed he had a wife and four children at the time of joining.
Issues
- Whether a workman's claim for correction of his date of birth in the service book, raised after about 25 years of service, ought to have been entertained by the Industrial Tribunal.
- Whether the Division Bench of the High Court was right in restoring the Tribunal's award on the ground that the writ court should not re-appreciate evidence and that the school leaving certificate was not disputed.
Held
- A claim for correction of date of birth made after a delay of 25 years, almost towards the end of service, ought not to be entertained; the Single Judge rightly applied the earlier decisions of the Court to that effect. (¶¶ 6, 9)
- The entries made in the service book at the time of joining, on the respondent's own declaration and signed by him in 1992, showed a wife aged 24 years and four daughters; if his claimed date of birth were accepted he would have been only 18 at the time of joining, which made the claim almost impossible to believe. (¶¶ 2, 3, 11, 12)
- Once the respondent had knowledge of the recorded date of birth he ought to have applied for correction at the outset; a school certificate issued in 2015, nearly 28 years after leaving school, and the absence of any evidence that the wrong entry was due to someone else's negligence, should have weighed with the Tribunal and the Division Bench. (¶ 12)
- The Division Bench erred in interfering with the Single Judge's judgment merely because the Tribunal's finding was based on appreciation of evidence and the certificate was not disputed. (¶¶ 10, 12)
Result
Appeal allowed; judgment of the Division Bench set aside and the order of the Single Judge setting aside the CGIT award confirmed; pending applications disposed of.