Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has ruled that an employee cannot change the recorded date of birth after retirement.
The case involved a man who worked at a pulp drawing processor manufacturing unit from 1983 until he retired in 2006. When he was hired, he verbally gave his date of birth as March 30, 1952, but didn't provide any proof.
The employer, however, recorded his date of birth as March 10, 1948, based on his provident fund details and a school certificate. This meant he retired at 58 in 2006.
After retirement, the man obtained a birth certificate showing March 30, 1952, as his date of birth. He then asked to be reinstated or be eligible to receive benefits up to 2010, arguing he should have retired four years later.
The employer rejected his request, saying the recorded date was correct and that he had already accepted his retirement benefits without raising any issues.
The man first took his case to the Labour Court, which dismissed it. He then appealed to the High Court.
Justice M G S Kamal, who heard the case, noted that the man questioned his date of birth two years after retiring, which cast doubt on his claim.
The court also cited a Supreme Court ruling that prevents changing a date of birth after retirement, especially if the employee had a chance to correct it earlier but didn't.
The court found that the recorded date of birth in the provident fund, which matched the man's school records, was final.
Since the man did not dispute his retirement at the time and accepted his benefits, the court ruled that his claim was an attempt to gain an unfair advantage.
The court dismissed the petition, stating that an employee cannot seek to change date of birth after a significant amount of time has passed, especially post-retirement.
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Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.