Abhijith R.S. v Union of India and others

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges: N. Nagareesh
Judgment Date: 2024-05-30
Court Decision / Holding: Writ petition disposed of; directed the 5th respondent (Additional Regional Officer, CBSE) to consider the petitioner’s DOB correction in light of other records and the Jigya Yadav scheme, and to take a decision within one month.
Final Disposition: Writ petition disposed of directing the Additional 5th respondent to consider the DOB correction in light of Jigya Yadav and other relevant records within one month; decision to be taken in accordance with the Supreme Court’s scheme.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

Abhijith R.S.

Respondents

Union of India
Central Board of Secondary Education
The Regional Officer, Central Board of Secondary Education
Viswabharathy Public School
Addl. Regional Officer, CBSE (Impleaded)

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• J.R. Prem Navaz
• Sumeen S.
• Muhammed Swadiq Irshad
• K.K. O. Mohamed Basil Koya Thangal

Counsels for Respondents

• Sri Nirmal S.
• Sri T.C. Krishna, CGC

Case Synopsis & Summary

Abhijith R.S., a 28-year-old resident of Thiruvananthapuram, seeks correction of his date of birth in CBSE records to reflect 17 November 1994 instead of 29 May 1996, which appears in the AISSE 2011 certificate. The petitioner asserts the DOB discrepancy stems from a clerical error in school records (Viswabharathy Public School, Neyyattinkara) and that correction is essential to avoid prejudice in education and subsequent employment. Ext.P5, a communication from the CBSE, mechanically rejected the DOB correction after reviewing the school documents; the petitioner contends the reason for rejection is hyper-technical, unjust, and arbitrary. The respondents contend the CBSE credentials and school records show the DOB as 29.05.1996 and contend that corrections must align with school documents, in line with the CBSE Bye-Laws Rule 69.2. The petitioner argues that the Born 17.11.1994 date is supported by Ext.P1 (Birth Certificate), Ext.P3 (Passport) and Ext.P4 (Aadhaar). The court notes the hardship and the need for alignment with other official records and refers to Jigya Yadav v. Central Board of Secondary Education as the controlling framework for DOB correction within CBSE records. The judgment disposes of the petition by directing the 5th respondent to consider the DOB correction in light of Jigya Yadav and relevant records within one month, thereby providing relief to the petitioner while adhering to the Supreme Court’s scheme.

Provisions of Law Cited

Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1969, Section 12CBSE Examination Bye-Laws Rule 69.2

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioner contends the DOB discrepancy arises from a clerical error in school records and that the CBSE’s hyper-technical rejection (Ext.P5) would cause grave hardship in education and future employment. He relies on other documents (Ext.P1 Birth Certificate, Ext.P3 Passport, Ext.P4 Aadhaar) showing 17.11.1994 as the correct DOB and urges correction in CBSE records per the Supreme Court’s guidance.

Contentions of Respondents

The CBSE and school authorities argue the school records show 29.05.1996; correction requests are not consonant with relevant school documents. The ruling Bye-Laws Rule 69.2 governs corrections, and the Board must rely on primary records. The Board has already communicated rejection and maintains that the date must reflect school records unless a proper scheme permits correction.

Cited Precedents (1)

Case Name	Citation	Treatment	Explanation
Jigya Yadav v. Central Board of Secondary Education	2021 (3) KLT 711 (SC)	Positive	Cited as the controlling Supreme Court scheme enabling correction of DOB in CBSE records; the court directs applying Jigya Yadav’s framework to the petitioner’s request.

Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT** **THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.NAGARESH** **THURSDAY, THE 30[TH] DAY OF MAY 2024 / 9TH JYAISHTA, 1946 WP(C) NO. 5819 OF 2024** ## **PETITIONER:** **ABHIJITH R.S., AGED 28 YEARS, S/O RAJAN.J, RESIDING AT ANIMA, K.P.XVIII/237, KAKKAMOOLA, VENGANOOR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT, PIN – 695042** **BY ADVS. J.R.PREM NAVAZ SUMEEN S. MUHAMMED SWADIQ IRSHAD K.K. O.MOHAMED BASIL KOYA THANGAL** ## **RESPONDENTS:** **1 UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT, SHASTRI BHAVAN, C-WING, DR. RAJENDRAPRASAD ROAD, NEW DELHI, PIN - 110011 2 CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN, (AN AUTONOMOUS ORGANISATION UNDER THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT), HEAD OFFICE NO: 2, SHIKSHA KENDRA COMMUNITY CENTER PRET VIHAR, NEW DELHI, PIN - 110092 3 THE REGIONAL OFFICER, CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, REGIONAL OFFICE, 2ND FLOOR, BLOCK-B, LIC DIVISIONAL OFFICE CAMPUS, PATTOM THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695004** W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 2 : **4 THE VISWABHARATY PUBLIC SCHOOL, NEYYATTINKARA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT, REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL, PIN - 695121** - ***ADDL.5 THE REGIONAL OFFICER,** **CENRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, REGIONAL OFFICE, NEW NO.3, OLD NO. 1630 A, “J” BLOCK, 16TH MAIN OAD ANNA NAGAR WEST, CHENNAI, PIN-60040** **[ADDL R5 IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER DATED 15-03-2024 IN IA NO. 1 OF 2024 IN WP(C) 5819/2024]** **BY ADV. SRI.NIRMAL S. SRI.T.C.KRISHNA, CGC** **THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 30.05.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:** W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 3 : ## **JUDGMENT** Dated this the 30[th] day of May, 2024 The petitioner states that his Date of Birth is 17.11.1994. However, it was wrongly entered in the School Records as 29.05.1996. The petitioner, therefore, submitted application for correction of Date of Birth in the CBSE records. By Ext.P5, the petitioner's application stands rejected. 2. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the hyper-technical reasons stated in Ext.P5 to reject request for correction, is highly unjust, arbitrary and illogical. The discrepancy in the Date of Birth in Ext.P2 mark sheet with Ext.P1 Birth Certificate, Ext.P3 Passport and Ext.P4 Aadhaar Card would result in great prejudice to the petitioner and it is likely to affect his career and future employment also. Therefore, unless this Court interferes W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 4 : and directs correction of Date of Birth, the petitioner will be put to untold hardship, urged the counsel for the petitioner. 3. Standing Counsel entered appearance and resisted the writ petition. The Standing Counsel submitted that the petitioner appeared for 10[th] Standard Examination from the Viswabharathy Public School, Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram, the 4[th] respondent. The petitioner had applied for Date of Birth correction through the School as per School letter dated 06.07.2023, which was received on 12.07.2023. The petitioner has requested for correction of his Date of Birth from 29.05.1996 to 17.11.1994. 4. The application of the petitioner was processed and it was observed that desired correction in Date of Birth was not in consonance with the relevant documents of School records. Accordingly, in view of the Examination ByeLaws Rule 69.2 of the CBSE, the request for correction in Date of Birth has not been considered by the Board and the same has been intimated to the School by office letter dated 11.08.2023. W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 5 : 5. The petitioner was registered for Board Exam (AISSE 2011) wherein the Date of Birth was recorded as 29.05.1996 by the School. At the time of submission of student's particular for Class IX & X registration, parents were asked to verify the details thoroughly in order to avoid errors. The petitioner as well as parents never approached the respondents with a request to rectify the errors in Date of Birth before the publication of the result and after the receipt of the Certificate. The same particulars as recorded by the School concerned were printed in the Board Certificate. Hence, error has not been committed by the respondents herein. Now, after so many years, the petitioner cannot state that the Board is wrong in not correcting the Date of Birth. 6. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the Standing Counsel representing the respondents. 7. The request of the petitioner is to correct the Date of Birth, which is recorded in the CBSE certificates as 29.05.1996. Ext.P1 Birth Certificate and Ext.P3 Passport would indicate that the petitioner's Date of Birth is W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 6 : 17.11.1994. The petitioner only wants to correct the Date of Birth in CBSE records so as to bring it in tune with other official records. Failure of the respondents to correct the Date of Birth is likely to cause hardship to the petitioner in his career. 8. Standing Counsel for the CBSE would point out that the correction of Date of Birth in service record is now laid down by a Scheme framed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in _**Jigya Yadav v. Central Board of Secondary Education** [2021 (3) KLT 711 (SC)]._ If the School authorities/4[th] respondent has forwarded the requisite document, the correction application can be considered in the light of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in _**Jigya Yadav** (supra)._ Considering the afore facts, the writ petition is disposed of directing the additional 5[th] respondent to consider the application for Date of Birth submitted by the petitioner in the light of other relevant records and take appropriate decision thereon taking note of the judgment of W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 7 : the Hon'ble Apex court in _**Jigya Yadav** (supra)._ This shall be done within a period of one month. Sd/- **N. NAGARESH JUDGE** SR W.P.(C) No.5819/2024 : 8 : ## **APPENDIX OF WP(C) 5819/2024** ## **PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:** **Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE ISSUED UNDER SECTION 12 OF THE BY THE REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS ACT, 1969 BY THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT OF KERALA** **Exhibit P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE GRADE SHEET CUM CERTIFICATE OF PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL EXAMINATION ISSUED TO THE PETITIONER** **Exhibit P3 THE TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF PASSPORT Exhibit P4 THE TRUE COPY OF THE AADHAR CARD ISSUED TO THE PETITIONER Exhibit P5 A TRUE PHOTOCOPY OF THE ORDER DATED 11.08.2023 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT MECHANICALLY REJECTING REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OF THE APPARENT ERROR IN THE DATE OF BIRTH OF THE PETITIONER.**