Sain Dad Khan V. General Manager HR and Admn. (NTDC) Wapda, Lahore and 4 others,
PLC (C.S) 2017 74 · Balochistan High Court
This case is about a government employee, Sain Dad Khan, who worked as an Assistant Line-Man for WAPDA/NTDC. When he joined service in 1980, his date of birth was recorded as 1st July, 1956. Years later, the record showed signs of alteration, with the date of birth changed to 21st December, 1961 after some cutting or editing in the service book. The petitioner wanted this later date, 1961, to be officially recognized, since it would delay his retirement by several years. He relied on documents like his school certificates and local certificates to support his claim.
The department had already rejected his request for this correction back in 2009, and he did not challenge that decision at the time. It was only in 2015, when he was informed he was nearing retirement based on the 1956 date, that he raised the issue again. The department again refused, citing that there was no rule allowing review of an already-settled date of birth.
The High Court dismissed his petition. It held that under civil service rules, once a date of birth is recorded at the time of joining service, it becomes final and cannot be changed later. The court also noted that the special WAPDA rules allowing correction for clerical errors did not apply to him, since he had joined before 1994. Because he waited 26 years and never challenged the 2009 decision, his case was also barred by unreasonable delay.
یہ مقدمہ ایک سرکاری ملازم سائیں داد خان کے بارے میں ہے جو واپڈا/این ٹی ڈی سی میں اسسٹنٹ لائن مین کے طور پر کام کرتا تھا۔ جب وہ 1980 میں ملازمت میں شامل ہوا تو اس کی تاریخ پیدائش یکم جولائی 1956 درج کی گئی تھی۔ کئی سال بعد سروس بک میں کاٹ چھانٹ یا ترمیم کے آثار سامنے آئے، اور تاریخ پیدائش بدل کر 21 دسمبر 1961 کر دی گئی۔ درخواست گزار چاہتا تھا کہ یہ بعد والی تاریخ، یعنی 1961، سرکاری طور پر تسلیم کی جائے کیونکہ اس سے اس کی ریٹائرمنٹ کئی سال کے لیے مؤخر ہو جاتی۔ اس نے اپنے دعوے کی تائید کے لیے اسکول کے سرٹیفکیٹس اور مقامی سرٹیفکیٹس جیسی دستاویزات پر انحصار کیا۔
محکمے نے اس کی اس درخواست کو 2009 میں پہلے ہی مسترد کر دیا تھا اور اس نے اس وقت اس فیصلے کو چیلنج نہیں کیا تھا۔ یہ معاملہ 2015 میں دوبارہ اٹھایا گیا جب اسے بتایا گیا کہ وہ 1956 کی تاریخ کی بنیاد پر ریٹائرمنٹ کے قریب پہنچ رہ