Stale date-of-birth correction claims in service records are barred when made after prolonged unexplained delay.

A belated request by a government servant to correct the date of birth in the service record was held not maintainable where the recorded entry had remained unchallenged for about thirty-five years and the employee had repeatedly signed the service book and seniority lists. Note 5 to Fundamental Rule 56(m), as amended in 1979, was read as discouraging stale claims and requiring correction requests within five years of entry into service, and in any event not beyond five years from the amendment's commencement for those already in service. Possession of a different birth certificate did not, by itself, justify late alteration of the service record.

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Issues: Whether a government servant's belated request for correction of the date of birth in the service record, made long after entry into service and not within five years after the 1979 amendment to Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56(m), could be entertained.

Analysis: The recorded date of birth in the service book had remained unchallenged for about thirty-five years, though the employee had repeatedly seen and signed the service record and seniority lists. The amendment to Note 5 of Fundamental Rule 56(m) was intended to discourage stale claims and required a request for correction within five years of entry into service. The provision was construed harmoniously so that even employees already in service before 1979 could not seek correction after an unreasonable delay and, in any event, not beyond five years from the amendment coming into force. Mere possession of a different date of birth certificate did not by itself justify late correction where the employee had slept over the claim.

Conclusion: The belated application for correction of date of birth was not maintainable, and the direction to alter the service record was unsustainable.

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