Court No. - 38 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 5110 of 2010 Petitioner :- Mohd. Maruf Ahamad Respondent :- State Of U.P. & Others Petitioner Counsel :- B.D. Sharma Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Amreshwar Pratap Sahi,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel.
The petitioner contends that he could not have been eliminated from his
service inasmuch as he was fully eligible qualified and he had appeared
in the selections which were held in the year 2006.
From a perusal of the facts on record, it is evident that on an earlier
occasion, the claim of the petitioner had been non-suited on account of
an incorrect inquiry having been made with regard to the genuineness of
the High School Certificate of the petitioner. The said claim was allowed
by this Court vide order dated 9.7.2009 passed in Writ Petition
No.59329 of 2007 where after the claim of the petitioner was re-
examined and it is evident that the last date of the application under the
Advertisement was 30.8.2005 and the maximum age permissible under
the Advertisement was 20 years as on 1.7.2005. The petitioner’s date of
birth, according to the High School Certificate, is 10.7.1985. In view of
the age limit as prescribed in the Advertisement, the petitioner was 9
days less than 20 years and, therefore, the claim of the petitioner
appears to have been incorrectly assessed by the respondents –
authorities.
The impugned order records that some information was received from
the Principal of the institution on 19.11.2009 and on the strength thereof,
it is alleged that the petitioner’s date of birth is 1.4.1987.
It is by now well settled by a series of decisions that the date of birth as
recorded in the matriculation examination is conclusive proof unless the
same is demolished by some other material that too even by the
competent authority. In the instant case, the date of birth of the
petitioner as recorded in the High School and as admitted to the
respondents is 10.7.1985. Any alteration in the date of birth of the High
School Certificate can be done in accordance with the regulations
framed under the U.P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921. In the event
any other date is recorded in the institution, the same would not be
applicable in the case of the petitioner once his date of birth has been
initially recorded as 10.7.1985 in the High School Certificate. The
authorities have to raise a presumption in favour of the date of birth as
recorded in the High School Certificate and not on the basis of any
information received from the institution or the Principal of the institution.
Further it is evident that the impugned order has been passed relying on
the information given by the Principal of the institution on 19.11.2009.
The said information was received and the order was passed without
putting the petitioner to notice or calling upon him to rebut the said
contention. In this view of the matter, the impugned order is also invalid
as being in violation of principles of natural justice.
Learned Standing Counsel could not successfully dispute the said
position.
Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed and the impugned order dated
21.1.2009, which proceeds on an erroneous assumption of law, is
hereby quashed without calling for any counter-affidavit. The authority
shall pass a fresh order in the light of the observations made herein
above within 3 weeks from the date of production of a certified copy of
this order before him.
Order Date :- 2.2.2010
Irshad