No two dates of birth in records

CHENNAI:  The Madras High Court has held that a person cannot provide two different dates of birth -- one for admission into school and another to enter into employment. A division bench made this observation while setting aside an order of a single judge directing the Director of School Education to alter a head master’s date of birth from Jan 6, 1952 to March 23, 1954 in his service register and allow him to retire from service with all benefits. The bench was allowing a writ appeal from the TN government challenging the single judge’s order.S Selvanathan, HMhead master of the Government HSS, Kancheepuram district, was first appointed Junior Assistant in June 1974 in the Sub-Treasury office in South Arcot district. At that point he made a representation to the Director of Treasuries and Accounts (DTA) asking that his date of birth be altered in the service register from Jan 6, 1952 to March 23, 1954. He claimed that the wrong birth date had been given by his parents at the time of admission into elementary school. The same date had been carried over into the SSLC book and in the service register, as well. The Board of Revenue secretary, after enquiry, recommended that the date of birth be altered. While the matter was pending consideration before the DTA, Selvanathan was appointed PG Assistant in June 1980 at the Government HSS in Tirunelveli. He made a representation to the Director of Education seeking alteration of his date of birth as shown in the service register but his request was rejected in July 2009. Challenging this order, Selvanathan filed a petition and a single judge allowed that the change be made. Hence, the present appeal.