Aadhar Card Not Proof Of Date Of Birth, School Leaving Certificate Can Be Considered To Determine Pension: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that the date of birth mentioned in the School Leaving Certificate can be considered valid for determining the pension payment upon superannuation, even if it differs from the date on the Aadhar Card.

This decision came in response to a case where a petitioner, who had served for over 30 years, faced pension payment issues due to a discrepancy between his service record and Aadhar Card.

Justice Mauna M Bhatt presiding over the case held, “Mr. Pathik Acharya, the advocate for respondent No.1 submitted that Pension is to be paid through Online application. Since the date of birth was not matching with the date of birth referred in the Adhar Card, pension could not be released. However, he could not dispute that in view of Circular No.08 of 2023 by Unique Identification Authority of India, the date referred in the Adhar Card is not a proof of date of birth and accordingly, Provident Fund Authority has also circulated the said Circular concerning all its department. Therefore, now the date of birth as mentioned in School Leaving Certificate can be taken into consideration and appropriately the pension can be released.”

According to the factual background of the case, the petitioner was employed by Ahmedabad Electricity Company Ltd. in 1984, which later became known as Torrent Power Ltd. The petitioner retired on March 31, 2021, having served for over 30 years. It was the petitioner's contention that when he was hired, he provided his accurate date of birth as March 29, 1963, which was consistent with his School Leaving Certificate.

However, due to an inadvertent or typographical error, his date of birth in the company's records was recorded as September 29, 1963. Consequently, upon his retirement, he was denied his pension. When he sought clarification from the authorities (respondent No.1), he was informed that his pension couldn't be processed because his date of birth as per the records did not match the date on his Aadhar Card. As a result of the non-release of his pension, the petitioner moved the High Court.

Advocate Ramnandan Singh, the advocate representing the petitioner, emphasized that the School Leaving Certificate clearly stated the date of birth as 29.03.1963. Therefore, he asserted that this date was accurate and the petitioner was entitled to the pension as requested. He further argued that reliance on the Aadhar Card by the office of respondent No.1 was irrelevant, as the date mentioned on the Aadhar Card should not be considered for the pension release.

On the contrary, Advocate Yogi Gadhia, representing respondent No.2, acknowledged that there was no disagreement regarding the date of birth stated in the petitioner's service record.

The Court observed, “But it appears that due to some inadvertent error, some other date has been mentioned in the Aadhar Card, than mentioned in the School Leaving Certificate. He could not dispute that date of birth referred in the School Leaving Certificate is required to be taken into consideration for the purpose of date of birth, if any dispute arose.”

The Advocate submitted that the office of respondent No.1, was to release the Pension in favour of the petitioner and if Pension was released in favour of the petitioner by taking into consideration the date of birth as 29.03.1963 as referred in the School Leaving Certificate, he had no objection.

The Court directed, “Therefore, in view of Circular No.08 of 2023 by Unique Identification Authority of India, accepted by the Provident Fund Authority, office of respondent No.1 is directed to release the pension along with arrears in favour of the petitioner, within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of this order.”

“If the pension along with arrears shall not be paid within a period of two weeks as directed hereinabove, it shall bear interest at the rate of 6% per annum,” the Court ordered while disposing of the petition.

Notably, on January 16, 2024, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India, issued Circular No: WSU/2024/1/UIDAI Matter/4090, announcing that Aadhaar cards would no longer be accepted as valid proof of date of birth. This decision was approved by the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC).

Valid documents serving as proof of Date of Birth for EPFO include:

1. Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths

2. Marksheet issued by any recognized Government Board or University

3. School Leaving Certificate (SLC)/ School Transfer Certificate (TC)/ SSC certificate containing Name and Date of Birth

4. Certificate based on the service records

5. PAN card

6. Central/State Pension Payment Order

7. Domicile Certificate issued by the Government

8. Medical certificate issued by Civil Surgeon after examining the member medically and supported with an affidavit on oath by the member duly authenticated by a competent court.

Appearance:Mr Ramnandan Singh(1126) For The Petitioner(S) No. 1Mr Pathik M Acharya(3520) For The Respondent(S) No. 1

Mr Yogi K Gadhia(5913) For The Respondent(S) No. 2

Case No.: R/Special Civil Application No. 16484 Of 2022

Case Title: Gopalbhai Naranbhai Vaghela Versus Union Of India & Anr.

LL Citation: 2024 Livelaw (Guj) 26

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