The Allahabad High Court has ruled that an employee cannot be retired before their official date of retirement unless their date of birth is first changed in the original service records. This important judgment was delivered by Justice Ajit Kumar in the case of Suresh Yadav vs State of U.P. And 3 Others (Writ – A No. – 61181 of 2014).
Background:
The petitioner, Suresh Yadav, was appointed as a peon on daily wage basis in 1984 in the office of Town Area Committee, Dohri Ghat, Mau. His services were regularized in 1992. However, in July 1992, his salary was suddenly stopped and services terminated. Yadav challenged this in court and was reinstated after a favorable judgment in 2006.
In August 2014, based on some complaints regarding discrepancies in his date of birth, the Chairman of Nagar Panchayat, Dohri Ghat Mau passed an order withholding Yadav’s salary and retiring him, presuming his date of birth to be 1.1.1964 based on Life Insurance Corporation policy papers. This was done without any formal inquiry or show cause notice. Yadav challenged this order in the present writ petition.
Key Legal Issues:
1. Whether an employee can be retired before the date as per service records without changing the date of birth entry
2. Validity of using LIC policy for determining age in service matters
3. Procedure for changing date of birth in service records
4. Need for proper inquiry before taking action on age discrepancy complaints
Court’s Observations and Ruling:
Justice Ajit Kumar made several important observations while allowing the writ petition:
1. On early retirement without changing service records:
“Without changing the date of birth originally recorded in the service book, an employee cannot be made to retire. The basic philosophy behind the service jurisprudence is that there is contract of employment between employer and employee. The service book maintained by employer is a part of the contract of employment and any change therein has to first take place as it would be altering the condition of employment.”
2. On using LIC policy for age determination:
“Life Insurance Corporation Policy is not a document for the purposes determination of age in service law.”
3. On need for proper inquiry:
“Unless and until regular enquiry was held in the matter giving opportunity of hearing to the concerned employee to meet the charges. This aspect of the matter has virtually skipped the attention of the Chairman/ employer”
4. On arbitrary action by authorities:
“The Courts have repeatedly held that actions to be taken by the authorities must be sound and reasoned one, more especially in service cases where interest of employees is at a stake and so respondents authorities are not supposed to act an arbitrary manner.”
The court relied on Rules 2 and 3 of Uttar Pradesh Recruitment to Services (Determination of Date of Birth) Rules, 1974, which state that for employees who have not passed High School, the date of birth recorded at time of employment is deemed correct and cannot be changed later.
Also Read
Final Order:
The court quashed the order dated 28.8.2014 passed by the Chairman, Nagar Panchayat. It directed that the petitioner be reinstated in service and considered in service until 31st December, 2023. The court also ordered payment of salary and recalculation of retirement dues.
The petitioner was represented by counsel V.K. Singh and D.K. Singh, while C.S.C., Dileep Kumar Srivastava and S. Tiwari appeared for the respondents.
