Madras High Court has ruled that a decree passed by a civil court cannot be relied upon for changing the date of birth in the Service Register of an employee.
Dismissing a petition by IPS officer M Ramasubramani, a Division Bench said that the alteration made in the SSLC certificate on the basis of the decree passed by the civil court can be ignored by central and state authorities as being void.
The nullity of the decree can be pleaded at any stage of the proceedings and be even raised collaterally in other courts, the bench said.
"If we ignore the said correction made in the SSLC certificate on the basis of a civil court decree, there is no other material to prove the petitioner's date of birth as being July 3, 1958," said Justices N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice MM Sundresh.
The IPS officer had challenged a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order dismissing his application seeking quashing of a Government Order which had rejected his request for a change in his date of birth.
As a DSP recruited through the state Public Service Commission, his representation in this regard in 1990 was rejected the following year.
But the petitioner had pleaded that the above step was not in keeping with the Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Service Rules.
The officer later obtained a decree from Virudhunagar Munsif Court and submitted a representation to the Home Department, which rejected it, saying that the civil court decree was not binding on the department.
Though his application challenging the rejection resulted in the setting aside of the order, the fresh plea with the government was again turned down.
CAT rejected his second application on the ground that the date of birth as declared by a person in the application for recruitment shall be accepted by the central government and as per Rule 16 A (4).
The date of birth accepted by the central government cannot be altered except where a bona fide clerical mistake has occurred.
Relying on a Supreme Court judgement, CAT rejected the application of the officer.
