Jharkhand High Court
Sadhan Modak vs M/S. Bharat Coking Coal Limited on 20 September, 2023
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P.(S) No. 5056 of 2023
With
I.A. No. 8300 of 2023
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Sadhan Modak ... ... Petitioner
Versus
M/s. Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Dhanbad through its Managing
Director & Ors. .... ... Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR
For the Petitioner : Mr. Tejo Mistry, Advocate
For the Resp.-BCCL : Dr. A.K. Singh, Advocate
Mr. Shivam Singh, Advocate
Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Advocate
Order No. 03 Dated: 20.09.2023
The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction
upon the respondents to correct the petitioner's date of birth in his
service record considering his matriculation certificate issued by the
Bihar School Examination Board, Patna (Annexure-6 to the writ
petition) which, according to him, was submitted at the time of his
appointment for recording his date of birth as 15.01.1966, however
the respondents wrongly recorded his date of birth as 01.10.1963
which was not corrected despite several requests made by the
petitioner in terms with Implementation Instruction No. 76
(Annexure-8 to the writ petition).
2. I.A. No. 8300 of 2023 has been filed on behalf of the petitioner
for staying the operation of retirement notice as contained in letter
no. 679 dated 02/04.11.2022 (Annexure-7 to the writ petition) issued
under the signature of the Project Officer, Bhagabandh Colliery,
Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Dhanbad (the respondent no. 4).
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that since the
petitioner had already passed matriculation examination conducted
by the Bihar School Examination Board, Patna in the year 1982 and in
the said certificate, his date of birth has been mentioned as
15.01.1966, recording his date of birth as 01.10.1963 in service
record by the respondents is highly illegal and arbitrary. It is further
submitted that the petitioner after joining service on 23.12.1983 had
mentioned his actual date of birth as 15.01.1966 in the nomination
form issued to him 30.05.1987, however ignoring the said fact, the
respondent no. 4 has issued retirement notice dated 02/04.11.2022
to the petitioner informing inter alia that he will be retiring in the
afternoon of 30.09.2023. Under the said circumstance, the retirement
notice dated 02/04.11.2022 may be stayed by this Court till pendency
of the writ petition. In support of his submission, learned counsel for
the petitioner puts reliance on a judgment rendered by the Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 1009 of 2020 (Bharat Coking Coal
Ltd. & Ors. Vs. Shyam Kishore Singh).
4. Dr. A.K. Singh, learned counsel for the respondent-BCCL, while
opposing the said prayer, submits that if at all the petitioner had
mentioned his date of birth as 15.01.1966 in the nomination form
issued on 30.05.1987, he should have pursued the said matter
thereafter. The petitioner has not brought on record any such
document to show that after issuance of the said nomination form on
30.05.1987, he pursued the said matter with respondent authorities.
In fact, the petitioner has agitated the said aspect at the fag end of
his service as he is going to retire on 30.09.2023.
5. learned counsel for the respondent-BCCL, however, prays for
and is allowed four weeks' time to seek instruction and file counter
affidavit.
6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and on prima facie
consideration of the issue raised in the present writ petition, this
Court is not inclined to pass any interim order as prayed by the
petitioner in I.A. No. 8300 of 2023 and the same is accordingly
dismissed.
7. It is however observed that the superannuation of the petitioner
according to his date of birth recorded in the service record i.e.,
01.10.1963, shall be subject to the outcome of the present writ
petition.
8. Put up this case on 02.11.2023 under the heading "For
Admission".
(Rajesh Shankar, J.)
Ritesh/
