Gujarat High Court
Satishkumar Maheshbhai Prajapati vs State Of Gujarat on 1 August, 2025
Author: Nikhil S. Kariel
Bench: Nikhil S. Kariel
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/12789/2024 ORDER DATED: 01/08/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12789 of 2024
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SATISHKUMAR MAHESHBHAI PRAJAPATI & ORS.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MS. MAYURI P CHAUHAN(7069) for the Petitioner(s) No.
1,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
MR ADITYA PATHAK ASSTT. GOVERNMENT PLEADER/PP for the
Respondent(s) No. 1
KAASH K THAKKAR(7332) for the Respondent(s) No. 5
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIKHIL S. KARIEL
Date : 01/08/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned advocate Ms. Mayuri Chauhan for the petitioners, learned AGP Mr. Aditya Pathak for the respondent No.1 - State and learned advocate Mr. Kash Thakkar for the respondent No.5.
2. By way of this petition, the petitioners have inter alia sought for a prayer for regularizing the present petitioners on the post on which they had been appointed with the respondent No.5 - organization.
3. Learned advocate Ms. Chauhan would submit that the petitioners having worked for long years with the respondents, have acquired right for being considered for regularization.
4. As against the same, learned advocate Mr. Thakkar relying upon a reply filed yesterday, would draw the attention of this Court to a decision taken by a learned Coordinate Bench (Coram: Ms. Justice Sonia Gokani as Her Ladyship then was) on 01.07.2016 in Special Civil Application Page 1 of 4 Uploaded by Y.N. VYAS(HC00207) on Sat Aug 02 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Aug 04 22:15:58 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/12789/2024 ORDER DATED: 01/08/2025 undefined No.13621 of 2014. Learned advocate would submit that the learned Coordinate Bench was seized of a similar issue and whereas while the learned Coordinate Bench had been pleased to reject the request of the petitioners therein for regularization, the learned Coordinate Bench has given a direction that the petitioners shall not be discontinued unless their posts filled in through a regular recruitment process. Learned advocate would in particular draw the attention of this Court to the findings of the learned Coordinate Bench at para 52.1 to 52.7, which are reproduced herein below for benefit.
"52.1 The prayer of the petitioners to regularise their contractual services and make them permanent on the establishment is rejected. Limited immunity that is made available to the petitioners is by allowing them to continue on their contractual employment and not to be replaced by other set of contractual employees on adhocism. The petitioners shall be continued in the existing cadre as long as the said Scheme continues, but purely on contractual basis and such employment shall be coterminus with the scheme, subject to evaluation of their performance, service and disciplinary rules as may be made applicable to them. The respondent State shall insist on periodical upgradation of knowledge, improvisation of technical skill and overall preparedness on the subject, so also on computerisation.
52.2 The challenge to the Government Resolutions dated December 23, 2013 and August 28, 2014 and the consequential process of recruitment undertaken in the year 2014 pursuant to the public advertisement dated August 28, 2014, succeeds qua the petitioners only. Those petitioner who have qualified in the last examination of the year 2014 shall be continued on contractual employment without insistence on their fresh appointment by the respondent State.
The respondent authorities shall renew the petitioners' contract of service on the same terms and conditions as continued so far 52.3 Those petitioners who have cleared the examination and not qualified in the process of recruitment of the year 2014, shall not be discontinued, if already on contractual service pursuant to their selection through legally permissible mode in the years 2009 and 2011.
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52.4 Those of the petitioners who have approached this Court after their termination on account of nonextension of their contractual employment, but otherwise given appointment after selection under the Rules/ on following public advertisement, shall be restored to continue on their original posts. This shall be considered as their contractual employment without any break.
52.5 It is being clarified that those appointments which have been made freshly pursuant to the aforementioned resolutions and process of selection under challenge in the year 2014, in no manner, shall be affected by this judgment.
52.6 It is being clarified that in absence of any policy of the State to grant permanency in any of the cadres at the District, Taluka or Gram Panchayat levels, the issue of the length of service of the petitioners deserves no adjudication. However, if any such policy in future is made by the State, the petitioners shall be at liberty to raise the contention of continuation and shall be entitled to raise the issue of the length of service from the date of their initial appointment. This Court has not concluded the said issue in the present group of petitions and has left the same for the petitioners to contend at an appropriate time the future, if the occasion arises.
52.7 As a parting note, it is being observed that this Court would fail in its duty if it does not act as a catalyst in the words of the Apex Court and draws the attention of the State Government that if may need to take a policy decision in respect of creating permanent establishment where contractual appointments have continued for more than a decade and its continuation is still felt by gearing up at all levels. Since it entails large financial implication, a marathon exercise is begging the attention of the State.
Rule is made absolute to aforesaid extent. There shall however, be no order as to costs.
In view of disposal of the main petitions, the connected Civil Applications do not survive and the same stands disposed of accordingly.
Disposed of accordingly."
5. Learned advocate Mr. Thakkar would further submit that though the present petitioners were not petitioners the said writ petitions, yet the respondents undertake that they would follow the direction given by the learned Coordinate Bench reproduced herein above in case of the present Page 3 of 4 Uploaded by Y.N. VYAS(HC00207) on Sat Aug 02 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Aug 04 22:15:58 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/12789/2024 ORDER DATED: 01/08/2025 undefined petitioners also.
6. Considering such a situation, since the law on this aspect, more particularly in an identical fact situation, has already been decided by a learned Coordinate Bench, it would not be justifiable for this Court to delve in to the issue any further except for relying upon the directions passed by the learned Coordinate Bench, which are reproduced hereinabove and direct the respondents to comply with the same in so far as the present petitioners also.
7. With this directions and observations, the present petition stands disposed of as party allowed.
(NIKHIL S. KARIEL,J) Y.N. VYAS Page 4 of 4 Uploaded by Y.N. VYAS(HC00207) on Sat Aug 02 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Aug 04 22:15:58 IST 2025