Case Note & Summary
The appellant, H. Shivakumar Swamy, was appointed as a daily wage employee (Mali, Group-D) with the Mysuru City Corporation on 05.11.1988. He did not submit any document showing his date of birth at the time of joining. Subsequently, when he was treated as a time scale employee with effect from 24.11.1995, a list was published (Annexure-A) showing his date of birth as 20.03.1959. After noticing this, the appellant made a representation on 03.03.2016 seeking correction of his date of birth to 06.07.1968, enclosing his school document. The second respondent rejected the representation by endorsement dated 03.12.2018. Aggrieved, the appellant filed Writ Petition No.2488 of 2019, which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge on 24.07.2020. The present writ appeal was filed under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961. The main legal issue was whether the appellant was entitled to correction of his date of birth after a delay of 28 years. The appellant argued that the date of birth was wrongly recorded and that he had produced school records. The respondents contended that the application was highly belated and not maintainable under Rule 195 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1969. The court analyzed that the appellant had ample opportunity to raise the issue earlier but did not do so. The court held that an application for correction of date of birth must be made within a reasonable time, and a delay of 28 years is fatal. The court found no infirmity in the order of the learned Single Judge and dismissed the appeal.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Correction of Date of Birth - Limitation - Rule 195 of Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1969 - The appellant sought correction of his date of birth from 20.03.1959 to 06.07.1968 after 28 years of service. The court held that an application for correction of date of birth must be made within a reasonable time, and a delay of 28 years is fatal. The court upheld the rejection of the representation by the employer. (Paras 1-10) B) Constitutional Law - Writ Jurisdiction - Article 226 of Constitution of India - Scope of Judicial Review - The court held that the High Court, in exercise of its writ jurisdiction, cannot interfere with the employer's decision to reject a belated application for correction of date of birth unless the decision is arbitrary or perverse. The learned Single Judge rightly dismissed the writ petition. (Paras 8-10)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the appellant is entitled to correction of his date of birth in service records after a delay of 28 years from the date of entry into service.
Final Decision
The writ appeal is dismissed. The order dated 24.07.2020 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.No.2488 of 2019 is confirmed.
Law Points
- Correction of date of birth in service records
- limitation period for application
- scope of judicial review under Article 226
- Karnataka Civil Services Rules
- 1969 Rule 195
