The Supreme Court on April 21, 2022 in the matter of Shankar Lal v. Hindustan Copper Ltd and others set aside the decision of a Public Sector Undertaking, Hindustan Copper Ltd (“employer”) to reduce the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (“VRS”) benefits to an employee by altering his date of birth and held that the rule that employees cannot raise a dispute relating to date of birth at the fag end of their service is equally applicable to employers as well.

In this case, the employee’s stand was that his date of birth is September 21, 1949. However, the employer reckoned his date of birth as September 21, 1945 for computing the benefits of VRS. If the latter date, i.e. 21st September, 1949 was accepted by the employer to be his date of birth, his financial benefits from the said scheme would have been higher, as he would have had longer service tenure left. He approached the High Court challenging the company’s action. The High Court had held that there were no records to prove that his date of birth was in 1949. After being unsuccessful there, he approached the Supreme Court. The admitted position was that 21st September 1949 was recorded as his date of birth in his service book. This was opened in 1975. The appellant claimed that at the time of his voluntary retirement, he came to learn for the first time that his date of birth was being changed to 21st September 1945. The “Form B” in the records reflected the 1945 date of birth. The employer maintained that the entry in the service book was an error which was corrected later.

The Supreme Court noted-

“This is not a case where a workman is seeking to change his date of birth to his benefit at the end of his career. This is a case where the employer is altering the records at the end of the career of the workman to his detriment on taking unilateral decision that the date of birth specified in the appellant’s service book was erroneous, relying on a date disclosed in a statutory form.”

The Court also observed that the employer changed the date of birth without giving an opportunity of hearing to the employee. The Court added that VRS benefits are covered under the Right to Property under Article 300A of the Constitution of India.

Hence, the Hon’ble Court allowing the appeal, directed the employer to extend the benefits of VRS to the appellant treating his date of birth as 21st September 1949.Such benefits shall be extended to him within a period of four months, upon deducting therefrom the sum already paid to him. The differential amount shall carry simple interest at the rate of seven percent (7%) per annum to be computed from 3rd October 2002, being the date on which he was released from service, till the date of actual payment to him in terms of this judgement.