The Delhi High Court has directed St. Columba’s School and the Central Board of Secondary Education to correct a Class 12 student’s date of birth in their records, ruling that a child cannot be penalized for the deceptive actions of their parents.
While granting the correction, Justice Vikas Mahajan imposed exemplary costs of 2 lakh rupees on the parents, stating that they could not escape accountability for using unethical means to secure their child’s kindergarten admission. The court ordered that the penalty amount be utilized to support the education of children of the Delhi High Court Bar Association staff.
The ruling came in response to a petition filed on behalf of the minor student, who sought to change his recorded date of birth from March 23, 2010, to his actual date of birth, April 23, 2010.
Discrepancy In Official Records
According to the petition, the student was admitted to kindergarten at St. Columba’s School in April 2014. At the time of entry, the parents provided an incorrect birth date of March 23, 2010.
The student’s guardian maintained that the correct date of April 23, 2010, is consistently reflected in all other public and statutory documents, including a birth certificate issued on April 5, 2011, hospital records, an Aadhaar card, and a passport.
While the correct birth date appeared on a Class 9 registration list signed by the parents, the school later submitted the incorrect March date to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) when preparing admit cards for the Class 10 board examinations during the 2025-2026 academic session. Despite subsequent appeals from the student’s father to both the school principal and the regional officer of the CBSE, no corrective action was taken, forcing the family to seek judicial intervention.
Court Protects Student’s Future
In his judgment, Justice Mahajan observed that the student has completed nearly a decade of education at the school, having already passed his Class 10 and 11 examinations. Consequently, the court ruled that his initial admission to kindergarten could not be declared completely invalid at this stage.
The court further emphasized that the student was only about four years old at the time of admission and cannot be held responsible for the parents’ misconduct.
Highlighting the potential consequences of uncorrected records, the court noted that the Class 10 certificate is crucial for securing college admissions both in India and abroad. Any discrepancy between this certificate and other statutory identity documents could lead to severe hurdles, delayed admissions, or doubts regarding the student’s identity.
Addressing administrative regulations, the high court noted that while CBSE bye-laws permit corrections to align board certificates with existing school records in cases of typographical errors, the court’s own authority to mandate such corrections is not restricted by these administrative guidelines.
