Darshan Kumar Vijaybhai Vadher vs The Principal, Lakshmi Ben ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 7175 Guj

     C/SCA/19023/2021                            ORDER DATED: 18/08/2022




            IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

             R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 19023 of 2021
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                DARSHAN KUMAR VIJAYBHAI VADHER
                              Versus
        THE PRINCIPAL, LAKSHMI BEN DAHYABHAI HIGH SCHOOL
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Appearance:
MR BHAVIK R SAMANI(8339) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED BY DS for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA
                  Date : 18/08/2022
                   ORAL ORDER

1. Learned advocate Mr.Samani, has tendered a draft amendment. The draft amendment is allowed in terms of the draft. The same shall be carried out forthwith.

2. Though served, the respondent has chosen not to appear.

3. The present petition has been filed seeking quashing and setting aside the communication dated 19.06.2021 issued by the respondent, rejecting the representation made by the petitioner dated 19.01.2021, change his date of birth in the School Leaving Certificate.

4. The facts, in short, are that the petitioner was born on 17.09.1997 at Wadhwan, Surendranagar and on 21.09.1997 and his birth date was registered before the competent authority. Thereafter, the petitioner had taken admission in the respondent - school on 01.09.2013 in Class 11 and had given a school leaving certificate dated 31.05.2015, wherein the date of birth was wrongly mentioned as "17.08.1997" instead of "17.09.1997". On 13.01.2021, the petitioner requested to the respondent school to correct the date of birth in the school leaving certificate. In response to the said application, the

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respondent school replied that the date of birth recorded in the general register of the school and the date of birth shown in the school leaving certificate are the same.

5. Learned advocate Mr.Samani, has submitted that the birth date certificate issued by the competent authority under Sections 12 and 17 of the Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969 has to be treated as final. Reliance is placed on the order dated 06.06.2022 passed by this Court in Special Civil Application No.17273 of 2021, where this Court has held that once there is birth certificate of the petitioner is available and the date of birth recorded in the school leaving certificate and the certificate of Education Board does not match with the date of birth as recorded in the birth certificate, the authority has to rely on the birth certificate for making necessary changes in the school leaving certificate.

6. Since the respondent has chosen not to appear before this Court, the averments made in the writ petition is remained uncontroverted.

7. At this stage, it would be apposite to refer to the observations made by the Coordinate Bench in the judgment dated 05.12.2018 passed in Special Civil Application No.4630 of 2018. The same reads as under:-

"7. Having heard learned advocates appearing for the parties and having gone through the material produced on record, it transpires that respondent No.2 authority has issued Birth Certificate in favour of the petitioner wherein the correct date of birth is recorded as 09.09.1975. The said birth date is also recorded in the Aadhar Card and Passport issued by the

C/SCA/19023/2021 ORDER DATED: 18/08/2022

competent School Leaving authority. However, Certificate is so far concerned, as copy the of which is produced at Page-12 of the compilation, date of birth of the petitioner is wrongly recorded as 28.08.1975. The petitioner has, therefore, requested respondent No.4 for correction of the said birth date on the basis of the Birth Certificate issued by respondent No.2. However, till date, no action is taken by respondent No.4 on the said representation.

8. Similar observations were also made in Paragraph-8 of the order dated 13.02.2007 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.3259 of 2007, which reads as under:

"Para-8. Looking to the facts and circumstances of the case and the Certificate issued under Sections 12 and 17 of the Act, the prayer as prayed for is required to be granted since the document at Annexure 'A' is a statutory Certificate, which has very high evidentiary value. So far as the facts, which are mentioned in the said Certificate at Annexure "A" reveals the date of birth of the petitioner is 12.12.1976. The details given in the Certificate have been recorded as per the statutory provision under the Act. The date of birth mentioned in Annexure 'A' ought to have been reflected in Certificate at Annexure "B" issued by the respondent No.4.

The contention raised by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents that in pursuance of the Rule 12 of the Gujarat Secondary Education Rules, 1974, such amendment in the School Leaving Certificate is not permissible, once the student, present petitioner has left the school. This contention is not accepted by this Court mainly for the reason that errors are required to be corrected. The respondents are not error proof authorities. If the error has been accepted by the respondents, denial of corrections of the documents is an arbitrary action. The only question which is now left out is mandamus operandi for carrying out the corrections in the School Leaving Certificate. There can be several methods of corrections of School School Certificate like direct corrections in the School Leaving

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Certificate itself or by keeping the certified copy of birth registration certificate issued by the State of Gujarat under Sections 12 and 17 of the Act, by the concerned School in their register and amended copy of School Leaving Certificate can be given to the petitioner or by putting notes in margin that this amendment in the birth date is carried out as per the certificate issued by the State Government, but, total denial by the concerned respondents that they shall not amend the School Leaving Certificate, despite the certificate of birth issued by the State of Gujarat tantamounts to violation of public duty and hence, writ of mandamus is issued upon the concerned respondents to carry out necessary amendment in School Leaving certificate on the basis of documents issued by the State of Gujarat, namely, the Birth Certificate issued under the Act. It is for the concerned respondent school to keep and preserve a certified/original of Annexure A in the School Register and thereafter, they can issue the corrected copy of School Leaving Certificate by putting necessary notes in the margin. But the error has to be corrected by the concerned respondents authorities. There cannot be any error, which can not be corrected."

9. Similarly, in the another petition being Special Civil Application No.8236 of 2006, vide order dated 05.05.2006, this Court disposed of the said petition, while giving directions to the concerned authority in Paragraphs - 8 and 9, which read as under:

"Para-8. Looking to the facts and circumstances of the case and, the Certificate issued under Sections 12 and 17 of The Registration of Birth and Death Act,1969 the prayer is given required to be granted since the documents at Annexure 'A' is a statutory Certificate, which has very high evidentiary value. So far as the facts, which are mentioned in the said Certificate at Annexure "A" reveals the date of birth of the petitioner is 20.11.1981. The details given in the Certificate have been recorded as per the statutory provision under the

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Act,1969. The date of birth mentioned in Annexure "A" ought to have been reflected in Certificate at Annexure "B" issued by the respondent No.2.

Para-9. Accordingly the respondent Nos. 2 is directed to make necessary changes in their records and Certificate, as stated hereinabove showing the correct date of birth of petitioner as 20.11.1981 instead of 20.11.1979. This exercise shall be done on before 19.05.2006. D.S. Permitted. Rule made absolute to the aforesaid extent."

10. The Division Bench of this Court in the order dated 24.11.2011 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.239 of 2011, even after considering the provisions of alternative remedy under the concerned regulation, observed in Paragraph -11 as under:

"Para -11. This Court is, therefore, left with two alternatives, first being that to relegate the appellant to the Civil Court for pursuing his cause while setting aside the order impugned and secondly, to set aside the order impugned and, instead of insisting the appellant to pursue alternative remedy, exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and to issue a direction to the school authorities for making necessary correction, particularly when there is no dispute about the genuineness of the certificate of birth and the date of birth indicated therein. In our view, a citizen need not be made to run from pillar to post for such a genuine and petty cause and we deem it proper to opt for the second alternative in the peculiar facts of this case."

11. Keeping in view of the aforesaid orders passed by this Court from time to time, if the facts of the present case are considered, it can be said that the Birth Certificate issued by the competent authority under the provisions of the Act of 1969 is a statutory certificate, which has very high evidentiary value and respondent No.4 has to consider the said aspect while correcting the date of birth in the School Leaving Certificate.

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Thus, the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, while considering the regulations 12 of the Gujarat Secondary Education Rules, 1974 has held that the date of birth recorded in a School Leaving Certificate, can be corrected, even after a student has left the school, if the same is found to be erroneous.

8. As noticed hereinabove, the Registrar, acting under the provisions of the Registration of Birth and Death Rules, 2004, has already issued a certificate recording the date of birth of the petitioner as '17.09.1997" and hence, there is an apparent error of recording the date of birth in the school leaving certificate.

9. In light of the above, the respondent authority is directed to make necessary changes in the column of birth date of school leaving certificate of the petitioner so as to record correct date of birth of the petitioner as "17.09.1997" as recorded in the birth certificate.

10. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly. The impugned communication dated 19.06.2021 passed by the respondent is hereby quashed and set aside. The respondent is directed to issue a fresh school leaving certificate with corrected date of birth of the petitioner within a period of THREE MONTHS from the date of receipt of this order.

(A. S. SUPEHIA, J) MAHESH BHATI/89