In a big ruling, The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that the date of birth declared by a Government servant and thereafter recorded by the appropriate authority in the service book or any other record, shall not be subject to any alteration, except in the case of a clerical error, without the orders of the Government.

Background

The appellant had submitted his credentials at the time of joining his service, which recorded his date of birth as 1953—a detail he had also signed off on in his service records. However, decades later, he claimed to have discovered that this information was incorrect. To support his claim, he presented a medical certificate as evidence.

Seeking official recognition of the supposed error, he approached the civil court for a declaration. However, the trial court dismissed his suit, citing both the statute of limitations and service rules that prohibit altering one’s date of birth more than five years after submitting credentials. His appeal before the Additional District Judge met the same fate and was also dismissed.

According to a Live Law report, The court also held that no alteration in the date of birth of the employee can be made by the administrative department unless the employee has approached the Government within a period of five years and demonstrated that such a mistake was genuine and bona fide.

The Bench

A bench led by Justice Vinod Chatterji Kaul ruled against the appellant, noting that he had not approached the department within the stipulated five-year period. The court pointed out that his service records were created based on the documents he himself had submitted at the time of joining. It further emphasized that no government job applicant can later claim ignorance of their own credentials or testimonials. The court observed that the appellant was attempting to alter his date of birth to appear five years younger, seemingly to extend his tenure and avail additional service benefits.