Bhani Pujari Vs State of Chhattisgarh

By way of this petition, the petitioner is seeking appropriate direction to the respondent-Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education for correction of the date of birth insofar as the high school examination certificate-cum-marksheet of the petitioner was issued by the respondent Board in the year 2023 wherein the date of birth of the petitioner has been mentioned as 07.01.2001 instead of 01.07.1973 and her name has been mentioned as Bhani Purjari instead of Bhani Pujari.

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Contention of the counsel for the respondent/Board of Secondary Education, opposed the petition and submits that the relief sought by the petitioner is directly hit by the express bar contained in the rules, regulations and resolutions governing the Chhatisgarh Board of Secondary Education. The petitioner’s claim for correcting in the name and date of birth has been made beyond the prescribed limitation period of three years and therefore no relief can be granted under the discretionary and equitable jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

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He further submits that the Board derives its statutory authority from the Madhya Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Adhiniyam, 1965 which continues to govern the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education. Section 19 read with Section 24 of the Adhiniyam expressly vests power in the Executive and Finance committee to frame orders, resolutions and guidelines to regulate the process of amendments and corrections in mark sheets and certificates issued by the Board. In pursuance of the

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aforesaid statutory powers, the Executive and Finance Committee of the Appellant Board in its joint meeting dated 28.02.2022 resolved to adopt a standardized legally enforceable procedure for entertaining applications for correction of name/surname and date of birth in academic records. After due deliberation, it has laid down clear conditions and a time bound mechanism stipulating that nay application of correction of name/surname and date of birth must be filed within a period of three years from the date of declaration of result. Beyond this time frame, the Board is divested of nay authority to entertain or grant such applications.

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It is submitted that in the instant case, the result of the petitioner was declared in March 2020. However, the petitioner approached the Board only on 13.08.2024 after a lapse of more than four years and thus the claim of the petitioner ex facie is barred by limitation. She submits that the principle of limitation and finality has also been recognized in several judgments of the Apex Court including Union of India Vs. M.K.Sarkar (2010) 2 SC 59 and State of UP V. Arvind Kumar Srivastava (2015) 1 SCC 347 wherein the Apex Court has consistently held that elated claims cannot be entertained as a matter of right, particularly when statutory rules prescribe a time limit for seeking redressal.

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Counsel for the petitioner at this juncture submits that in an identical petition ie WPC No. 410 of 2023, this Court has directed the authorities to consider the case of the petitioner in light of various pronouncements of the Apex Court. He further submits that the case of the present petitioner may also be considered in the light of the above

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petition which has been decided by directing the respondent/Board of Secondary Education to consider the case of the petitioner ignoring the delay part.

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Having heard contentions of the parties, it is directed that the respondent Board shall consider the application of the petitioner for correction of date of birth in her high school examination certificate-cummarksheet and pass appropriate orders ignoring the delay part subject to verification of all the documents.

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It is made clear that this Court has not expressed anything on merits of the case and the authority concerned would decide the representation strictly in accordance with law.

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With the above observation, the petition stands disposed of.

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Sd/-

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(Arvind Kumar Verma)

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Judge

Bhani Pujari v. State of Chhattisgarh

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Bhani Pujari v. State of Chhattisgarh

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