Madras High Court
K.Muthulakshmi vs Tmt.K.Lakshmiammal on 18 August, 2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 18.08.2011
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.NAGAMUTHU
Second Appeal No.1499 of 1998
K.Muthulakshmi .... Appellant
Vs
1. Tmt.K.Lakshmiammal
2. Directorate of medical Service,
Adjutant General Branch DMS,
4,Army Headquarters,
New Delhi.
3. Directorate of medical Service,
MBRS(D)
Medical Personnel Record Section,
Army Head quarters.
4. The Secretary,
Department of Defence,
Militiary of Defence,
Tamil Nadu, New Delhi
5. Directorate of Public Instruction,
Board of Secondary School Education,
Nungambkkam,
Chennai.6. ... Respondents
. . .
Prayer:- Second Appeals filed under Section 100 of C.P.C against the judgment and decree of the learned VI Additional Judge, City Civil court, Madras dated 13.06.1996 in A.S.No.217 of 1995 confirming the judgment and decree of the learned XVII Asst.Judge, City Civil Court, Madras dated 31.12.1991 in O.S.No.5851 of 1989.
For Appellant : Mr.J.R.K.Bhavanathan
For Respondents : Mr. A.s.Chakravarthy,Senior counsel
(R2 to R4)
Mrs.Saraswathi Sivaraman Iyer
(Govt.Advocate) R5
N A - R1
. . .
J U D G M E N T
An important question in respect of the evidentiary value of an order made under Section 13 (3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act,1969 relating to the date of birth of an individual has arisen for consideration in this Second Appeal.
2. The appellant has filed O.S.No.5851 of 1989 before the learned XVII Assistant Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai for a declaration that the date of birth of the appellant is 31.03.1941 and for consequential relief of mandatory injunction to direct the defendants 2 to 5 to alter the date of birth in the Service Register of the plaintiff as 31.03.1941 instead of 06.06.1938. It is pertinent to mention that the plaintiff was working as Principal Matron ( M1S) in the Directorate of Medical Services, Army Headquarters, New Delhi. According to her, in her Secondary School Leaving Certificate, due to ignorance and illiteracy of her parents, her date of birth was wrongly entered as 06.06.1938, though her actual date of birth is only 31.03.1941. When she applied for extract of the Birth Register, she was informed that her birth was not registered as required under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act,1969. Thereafter, she filed a petition under Section 13(2) of the said Act before the learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Kovilpatti for an appropriate direction to register her date of birth in the birth Register as 31.03.11941. After holding summary enquiry, the learned Judicial Magistrate issued an order on 05.50.1986 (Ex.A.3) directing the Registering authority to register the date of birth of the appellant. Accordingly, the Headquarters, Deputy Tahsildar concerned, registered the birth of the appellant in the birth Register and issued an extract of the same on 14.05.1986 under Ex.A.4. Based on the same, the appellant made a request to the respondents 2 to 5 to enter her correct date of birth in all Service Records as 31.03.1941. But the said request was rejected. Thereafter, the appellant filed the present suit in O.S.No.5851 of 1989 for appropriate relief.
3. In the written statement filed before the trial Court, it was contended by the defendants 2 to 5 that the date of birth of the appellant is only 06.06.1938 and not 31.03.1941. The entry in the Service Records was made based on her Secondary School Leaving Certificate. In any event, if any change in the date of birth is to be made, as per the relevant rules, the aggrieved employee should approach the authority within a period of two years from the date of entry into service. But, in this case, since the request came forward from the plaintiff after several yeas of her joining the service, the said request cannot be complied with.
4. Based on the above pleading, the trial Court framed appropriate issues. On the side of the plaintiff, the plaintiff was examined herself as P.W.1 and as many as 14 documents were exhibited. On the side of the respondents 2 to 5, neither oral evidence nor documentary evidence was let in. The first defendant in the suit was the mother of the appellant. She remained exparte.
5. Having considered the above materials, the trial Court dismissed the suit. As against the same, the appellant filed an appeal in A.S.No.217 of 1995 before the learned VI Additional Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai. The learned VI Additional Judge dismissed the appeal, thereby confirming the decree ad judgment of the trial Court. Challenging the same, the appellant is before this Court with this Second Appeal.
6. When this Second Appeal was admitted, this Court framed the following substantial question of law:
"Whether the Courts below are correct in dismissing the suit filed by the plaintiff/appellant in spite of the order passed under Ex.Az.3 by the competent Court, which has become final?"
7. I have heard the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned counsel for the respondents 2 to 5 and also perused the records carefully.
8. The learned counsel for the appellant would submit that Ex.A.3 is a judicial order passed by the competent learned Magistrate issuing a direction to the Registering Authority to register the date of birth of the appellant as 31.03.1941. But the Courts below have failed to give any weightage for the same. The learned counsel would further submit that consequent upon Ex.A.3., the birth of the appellant was registered in the birth register and the Headquarters Deputy Tahsildar has also issued Certificate, Ex.A.4, on 14.05.1986. Even that was not given weightage of by the Courts below, the learned counsel contended. Based on all these documents coupled with oral evidence of the plaintiff, according to the learned counsel, the Courts below ought to have decreed the suit as prayed for.
9. The learned counsel for the respondents 2 to 5 vehemently opposed this appeal. According to them, there can be no presumption of the correctness of the date of birth as found inEXs.A.3 andA.4. They would further contend that as per the Service Rules, any change in the date of birth could be effected only within two years from entering into service on the request made by the employee. Since in this case, admittedly, such request was made only on 14.12.1988 under Ex.A.8 long after the entry into service, the same could not be considered. Thus, according to the learned counsel for the respondents 2 to 5, the appeal deserves only to be dismissed.
10. The primary question involved in this case is as to what is the evidentiary value of an order made by a competent Judicial Magistrate under Section 13 (3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969.(hereinafter referred to as "Act") In the case on hand, except the oral evidence of P.W.1 there is no other evidence let in to prove the date of birth of the appellant as 31.03.1941 as claimed by her. It is needless to point out that her oral evidence, in the absence of any other materials, either in the form of oral evidence or in the form of documentary evidence, will be of no use. The learned counsel would contend that there shall be a legal presumption of the correctness of the date of birth as found in Ex.A.3, the order passed by the learned Magistrate under Section 13 (3) of the Act.
11. I find it very difficult to accept the said contention. If the birth of a child had been registered in the regular course in the appropriate register based on spontaneous information furnished within a reasonable time, then surely, there can be a presumption on the correctness of the entry of the date of birth in the said register in view of Section 114(e) of the evidence Act. But, in this case, such presumption cannot be raised because the birth of the appellant was not registered in the regular course. As I have already stated, it was registered on the orders of the learned Judicial Magistrate after many years. Thus, the said presumption under Section 114 (e) of the Act is not at all available to the appellant.
12. The next question is as to whether the order passed by the learned Magistrate shall go to conclusively prove that the date of birth of the appellant is 31.03.1941. In my considered opinion, it is not so. Before passing an order under Section 13(3) of the Act, the Magistrate is bound to hold only summary enquiry to verify the correctness of the claim made by the petitioner for a direction to register the birth which had been omitted to be registered by the authority in the regular course. The learned Magistrate is not required to hold a deep enquiry or trial to give a positive finding regarding the correctness of the date of birth. The learned Magistrate, in such summary enquiry, is required to verify as to whether the birth or death had taken place or not and to issue a direction to register the birth or death as the case may be. The learned Magistrate is not required to adjudicate upon the correctness of the date of birth as claimed in the petition filed before him under Section 13 (3) of the Act. In this regard, I may refer to the judgment of this Court in Valu VS Malalthi reported in 1992 L.W.(Crl.) 16, wherein this Court has held that since the procedure is prescribed under the Act for verification under Section 13(3) of the Act, it follows that the Magistrate is not expected to verify the correctness of date of birth or death or to hold an enquiry in the event of a dispute over the exact date. It was held that deciding the exact date of death or birth in the case of a dispute regarding the date, is beyond the scope of Section 13(3)of the Act.
13. In Parvathal Vs Periasamy Gounder reported in 1992 L.W.(Crl.) 469, this Court has held that the judicial Magistrate is only required to verify whether the birth or death had in fact taken place and that even deciding the exact date of death or birth in the case of a dispute regarding the date is beyond the scope of Section 13(3) of the Act.
14. Therefore, the order passed by the learned Magistrate in the instant case under Ex.A.3 cannot be treated as conclusive proof of the date of birth of the appellant mentioned therein. It can only be used as a piece of evidence in a subsequent proceedings where a Civil Court is called upon to adjudicate upon the correctness of the date of birth. In the given case, before the learned District Munsif, the appellant has pressed into service Exs.A.3 and A.4, which can be treated only as a piece of evidence in favour of the appellant. But, based on the same alone, it cannot be declared that the date of birth of the appellant is 31.03.1941. Under Section 101 of the Evidence Act, the burden is heavily upon the appellant to prove that she was born on 31.03.1941. This fact in issue should be proved by independent acceptable evidence. But, unfortunately, the appellant has not let in either oral evidence or any other evidence to prove that she was born on 31.03.1941. It is curious that even her mother or any other close relative who had knowledge about the date of birth of her, has not been examined. No other document like medical records showing her birth also has been produced. Thus, in my considered opinion, the appellant has failed to discharge her burden of proof that she was born on 31.03.1941. In such view of the matter, only on the basis of Exs.A.3 and A.4, it cannot be held that she was born on 31.03.1941. Therefore, the Courts below were right in declining to grant decree as prayed for. Accordingly, I answer the substantial question of law.
15. In the result, the appeal fails and the same is accordingly, dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.
pal To
1. Directorate of medical Service, Adjutant General Branch DMS, 4,Army Headquarters, New Delhi.
2. Directorate of medical Service, MBRS(D) Medical Personnel Record Section, Army Head quarters.
3. The Secretary, Department of Defence, Militiary of Defence, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi
4. Directorate of Public Instruction, Board of Secondary School Education, Nungambkkam, Chennai.6.
5. VI Additional Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai.
6. XVII Asst.Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai