1 CGHC010367832026 2026:CGHC:41116 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 4792 of 2026 1 - Vikas Dwivedi S/o Chhotelal Dwivedi Aged About 27 Years R/o E-9 / Hill View Colony, Patrapali, Jindal Road, Raigarh, District - Raigarh (C.G.) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - University Grants Commission (U G C) Through Its Chairman, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110002 2 - National Testing Agency (N.T.A.) Through Its Director (Exam), N.T.A., 1st Floor, N.S.I.C. - M.D.B.P. Building, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi, Delhi - 110020 ... Respondents (Cause-title taken from the Case Information System) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Petitioner :- Mr. Divyanand Patel, Advocate For Respondent No. 2 :- Mr. P.R. Patankar, Advocate For Respondent No.1 :- Mr. Dhiraj Kumar Wankhede, Advocate ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SB- Hon'ble Shri Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order On Board 22.09.2026 1. Following reliefs have been prayed in this petition:- “10.1 To call for the entire records/documents in relation to the case of the petitioner from the VISHAKHA BEOHAR Digitally signed by VISHAKHA BEOHAR 2 possession of the respondents for its kind perusal. 10.2 Issue any appropriate order(s) or direction(s) or writ, particularly a Writ of Mandamus, directing Respondent No.2/NTA to consider and decide the Petitioner's representation dated 09.09.2026 expeditiously, considering the petitioner's Birth Certificate, Class 10th Marksheet and current Aadhaar card while deciding the representation within a time-bound period fixed by this Hon'ble Court; 10.3 Upon verification of the aforesaid documents, direct Respondent No.2/NTA to correct the Petitioner's name spelling from "VIKASH" Dwivedi to "VIKAS" Dwivedi in the UGC-NET June 2025 Scorecard and Certificate for the Award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) records; 10.4 Upon verification of the aforesaid documents, direct Respondent No.2/NTA to correct the Petitioner's date of birth from "18.11.1998" to "18.10.1998" in the UGC-NET June 2025 Scorecard record; 10.5 Direct Respondent No.2/NTA to issue/reissue the corrected UGC- NET June 2025 Scorecard and Certificate for the Award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) bearing the Petitioner's correct particulars. 10.6 Grant such other relief(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience;.” 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has submitted a representation before respondent No.2 seeking correction of his date of birth and name in the UGC-NET June 3 2025 Scorecard and JRF Certificate. It is submitted that, while filling up the application form, the petitioner had inadvertently mentioned an incorrect date of birth and name, and consequently the same particulars came to be reflected in the records and certificates issued by the respondents. Learned counsel submits that the petitioner has approached the competent authority along with his Birth Certificate, Class 10th Marksheet and Aadhaar Card, which according to him correctly reflect his date of birth and name. He, therefore, seeks a direction to the competent authority to consider and decide his representation after verification of the documents produced by him and, if found correct in accordance with the applicable rules, to take appropriate consequential action. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the respondents jointly submits that the petitioner himself furnished the incorrect name and date of birth while submitting the application form. Therefore, the particulars reflected in the scorecard and certificate issued by the respondents correspond to the information furnished by the petitioner, and there is no error or mistake on the part of the authorities. It is further submitted that the petitioner approached this Court after a considerable delay, having obtained the scorecard and certificate almost one year prior to filing the present petition. On these grounds, learned counsel submits that no direction for correction, as prayed for, is warranted. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that, since the petitioner’s name and date of birth have been incorrectly reflected 4 in the records and certificate, the same are required to be corrected; otherwise, the petitioner would face difficulties and prejudice in pursuing his further academic and professional career. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel appearing for the respondents and have perused the material available on record. 6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner, while submitting the application form for UGC-NET June 2025, inadvertently mentioned his name and date of birth incorrectly. Consequently, the same particulars came to be reflected in the scorecard and the certificate issued by the respondents. It is submitted that the petitioner has thereafter submitted a representation dated 09.09.2026 before respondent No.2, along with supporting documents, including his Birth Certificate, Class 10th Marksheet and Aadhaar Card, which according to the petitioner correctly establish his name and date of birth. It is contended that unless the said particulars are corrected, the petitioner may face difficulty and prejudice in pursuing his further academic and professional career. 7. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondents jointly submits that the particulars reflected in the scorecard and certificate have been reproduced from the information furnished by the petitioner himself in the application form. Therefore, there is 5 no mistake attributable to the respondents in issuing the said documents. It is further submitted that the petitioner approached the respondents/Court after a considerable lapse of time, nearly one year after issuance of the scorecard and certificate, and therefore the relief sought cannot be granted as a matter of course. 8. Having considered the rival submissions, this Court finds that the petitioner is not seeking any determination by this Court, at this stage, as to whether the particulars mentioned in the documents produced by him are correct or whether the same can be altered in the records of the respondents. The petitioner has already approached the competent authority by submitting a representation dated 09.09.2026, raising the aforesaid grievance and seeking correction of his name and date of birth. 9. The respondents have raised a specific contention that the particulars appearing in the scorecard and certificate are based upon the information furnished by the petitioner himself in the application form. This aspect, as well as the documents relied upon by the petitioner in support of his request for correction, require examination by the competent authority in accordance with the applicable rules, regulations and procedure governing correction of particulars in the UGC-NET records. 10.At the same time, the mere fact that the particulars were furnished by the petitioner in the application form would not render 6 his pending representation liable to be ignored. The competent authority is required to consider the representation and examine the documents relied upon by the petitioner, including the Birth Certificate, Class 10th Marksheet and Aadhaar Card, and thereafter take a reasoned decision in accordance with the applicable rules. The question as to whether correction can legally be permitted, particularly having regard to the time elapsed and the fact that the scorecard and certificate have already been issued, is also left open for consideration by the competent authority. 11.It is, therefore, considered appropriate that the petitioner’s grievance be examined by the competent authority in the first instance rather than this Court undertaking such factual and administrative scrutiny in writ jurisdiction. Accordingly, respondent No.2 is directed to consider and decide the petitioner’s representation dated 09.09.2026, after examining the documents relied upon by the petitioner and the objections, if any, raised by the respondents, strictly in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. 12.The aforesaid exercise shall be completed within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The decision so taken shall be communicated to the petitioner forthwith thereafter. 7 13.It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the petitioner’s claim for correction of his name or date of birth. The competent authority shall take an independent decision in accordance with law and the applicable rules. 14.With the aforesaid directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Vishakha