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---‑‑Date of birth‑Best evidence‑Birth certificate and school leaving certificate‑Retirement on superannuation age made on basis of age mentioned in bio-data signed and given by employee at time of appointment‑Employee in a bid to show his retirement as pre mature going on shifting his date of birth from time to time Failing to produce his Army discharge certificate and birth certificate or school leaving certificate‑Presumption, in circum stances, held, would arise that those would not be favourable to employee‑Grievance petition challenging retirement as premature, in circumstances, held, rightly rejected by Labour Court‑Industrial Relations Ordinance (XXIII of 1959), Ss 25‑A & 38 (3).

S. M. Koh1stani for Appellant.

Ghulam Hussain for Respondent.

Date of hearing : 26th February, 1984.

The facts leading up to this appeal are that the appellant Azizur Rehman after retirement from the Army was employed with the respon dent Karachi Transport Corporation as a Security Guard since 12th April, 1968. On 8th December, 1982, be was made to retire from the service of the respondent Corporation by an order, dated 7th December, 1982. According to him he had not yet attained 60 years the age of superanua tion and, therefore, his order of termination by way of retirement was illegal. He served a grievance notice on the respondent and his grievance having not been redressed, be filed the grievance application before the learned Labour Court No. IV at Karachi: The learned Labour Court dismissed his application. Aggrieved by the impugned order he has come in this appeal.

2. I have perused the material evidence on the record adduced by both the parties and have also heard the learned representatives, Mr. S. M. Koh1stani for the appellant Mr. Ghulam Hussain for the respondent. It is an admitted position that the age of retirement in the service of the respondent was 60 years. It has been contended by the appellant that he was made to retire at the age of 52 years. The burden lay on him to prove his assertion that he was prematurely retired. He has admitted in his cross‑examination that at the time he sought employment with the respondent he had furnished his bio-data. The particulars given whereof at Exh. A/2 are signed by him. He has shown his age therein as 47 years on 10th November, 1968. It would definitely come more than 60 years on 8th December, 1982, when he was made to retire from service. Confronted with the situation what I find from evidence on record that he has gone on shifting the date of his birth from time to time in a bid to show that be was prematurely retired. He has relied on his Identity Card which be obtained from the respondent showing therein his birth date as 10th May, 1930. In his grievance notice he showed the year of his birth as 1933. In his affidavit in evidence he further shifted his date of birth as 10th May, 1940. He has failed to produce without assigning any reason the Army discharge certificate which would disclose the entire p4rticulars of his birth date, age etc., for the reasons best known to him. The best evidence on the issue with regard to his age certificate of his birth and the, school leaving certificate have not been produced by him and in the fact of evidence above mentioned the presumption that would arise would be that he had deliberately supressed the same as they would not be favourable to him. Accordingly, I find that the evidence that has been adduced on the record does not support his case at all. On the contrary it shows that he was retired on attaining the age of 60 years which admittedly is the age of superannuation in the service of the respondent, Karachi Transport Corpo ration. In view of this finding the issue as to whether he is a workman or not would not appear necessary for adjudication. I, therefore, find that the impugned order of the learned Labour Court was rightly passed and would not call for interference.

3. The result is that the appeal is dismissed.

A. E. Appeal dismissed.

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