The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed the plea of a Forest Watcher to alter his date of birth in service register so as to extend the date of superannuation and extension of service benefits.
The petitioner, P. Veluchamy, employed as Social Forestry Worker and Plot Watcher from 1981 to 2004 under Dindigul Divisional Forest Office and from 2004 as Forest Watcher under Tiruchi Divisional Forest Office, claimed that his original date of birth was December 6, 1963. However, his parents, due to ignorance, had erroneously entered the date as May 5, 1960 in school register. He said he had handed over a representation to the authorities concerned in 2005 for altering the date of birth, but it was not considered.
Justice S. Vaidyanathan dismissed the plea saying that the petitioner ought to have made an application for effecting the change within five years from the date of entry intoservice. But the representation was made several decades after he joined the service. The petition was therefore barred by limitation, the court said.