Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has refused to grant relief to a police inspector seeking a change in his date of birth in service records. The court held that such requests, when made beyond a reasonable period, should not be entertained.
A division bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Milind Sathaye noted that government employees often seek such changes after spending a considerable time in service or nearing retirement. The court observed that altering the birthdate to a later date has far-reaching consequences, including questions about eligibility at the time of appointment, changes in seniority, and extended salary payments by the government.
“If a government employee seeks a change in the date of birth to claim they were born later than recorded, it implies they were younger at the time of entry into service than originally stated. This can impact eligibility, seniority among employees recruited at the same time, and even past benefits availed,” the bench stated on January 22.
The judges highlighted that altering birth records could unfairly extend an employee’s tenure, affecting salary payments and seniority rankings. The court emphasised that such requests should be avoided and ruled that any change must be made within a reasonable time—five years under the applicable rule.
The HC dismissed the petition filed by Pune-based Dnyaneshwar Katkar, who joined the police force as a sub-inspector on September 15, 1993. His service book recorded his birth date as June 1, 1966, based on his school leaving certificate. However, Katkar later claimed that during an informal discussion, his father revealed his actual birthdate to be December 24, 1968.
On May 23, 1995, Katkar’s father submitted the affidavit to authorities, and two days later, Katkar applied for a correction in his service records. He sent reminders in 1996 but received no response.
In 2022, Katkar obtained an order from the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ghodnadi, directing his village authorities to change his birthdate. He published the change in the government gazette in 2023 and, in January 2024, approached the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) seeking enforcement of the judicial order. After the MAT rejected his plea on May 2, 2024, he approached the HC.
The State opposed his application, citing the Maharashtra Civil Services (General Conditions) Rules, 1981, which permit changes only for clerical errors made by the government and require applications within five years of joining.
