Gujarat High Court
Ganpatsing Chhatrasinh Vaghela vs State Of Gujarat on 25 June, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17543 of 2015
==========================================================
GANPATSING CHHATRASINH VAGHELA & ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR UT MISHRA(3605) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
ADVOCATE NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 3
MR. JEET JOTANGIA, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR. ALKESH N SHAH(3749) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
==========================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP N. BHATT
Date : 25/06/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. The present petition is filed for seeking the following reliefs:
"5(A) That Your Lordships be pleased to issue an order, direction and/or writ in the nature of mandamus/certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, quashing and setting aside the impugned order dated 31-7- 2015 and 1-9-2015, as being illegal and be pleased to direct the respondents to consider the case of the petitioners in light of the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of State of Gujarat vs. PWD Employees Union (Supra) and be pleased to direct the respondent to extend the benefit of Government Resolution dated 17-10-1988 forthwith;
(B) That Your Lordships be pleased to stay the impugned Page 1 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined Orders dated 1-9-2015 converting the petitioners from Daily-
wager to Fixed-rate employee;
(C) That Your Lordships be further pleased to direct the respondent to pay the arrears arising out the non-grant of benefit of 17-10-1988 G.R. on completion of 5, 10 years of service, with 12% interest;
(D) Any other and such further relief as the Hon'ble court deems fit and proper in the interest of justice together with costs."
2. Brief facts of the case as per the case of the petitioner in this petition are as under:
2.1 The petitioners herein have earlier filed SCA No.207 of 2015. This Court has disposed of the petition vide order dated 23.06.2015 wherein the Court has directed the respondents to consider the case of the petitioners in light of judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in the case of State of Gujarat vs. PWD Employees Union.
Aforesaid order passed by this Hon'ble court came to be served to the respondent authority on 2.7.2015. It is further the case of the petitioner in this petition that thereafter, the respondent authority passed an order Page 2 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined dated 31.07.2015 wherein the respondent has stated that the petitioners are appointed after 12 years from 17.10.1988 and therefore, the petitioners are not entitled for the benefit of said Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid order rejecting the case of the petitioners, the present petition has been preferred.
3. Heard Mr. U.T. Mishra, learned advocate for the petitioners, Mr. Alkesh Shah, learned advocate for the respondent No.2 and Mr. Jeet Jotangia, learned AGP for the respondent - State.
4. Mr. U.T. Mishra, learned advocate for the petitioners has drawn the attention of this Court towards the information provided about daily wagers whereby it is mentioned that from February, 2000, the petitioner No.2 is working and from June, 2000, the petitioner No.1 is working with the respondent authority and they are working as daily wager and they are covered with the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988. He has referred and relied on the judgment dated 31.01.2013 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Special Civil Page 3 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined Application No.1563 of 1992 and allied matters, which is confirmed by the Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 16.07.2014 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.325 of 2013 and allied matters. In view of this, he has submitted that considering the fact that the petitioners are still working in the establishment of respondent authority as daily wager and has completed continuous service as prescribed under the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 for more than ten years and, therefore, they are entitled to get the benefits. Hence, the impugned orders dated 31.07.2015 and 01.09.2015 are required to be quashed and set aside.
5. Mr. Alkesh Shah, learned advocate for the respondent No.2 has strongly opposed the submissions made at the bar by learned advocate for the petitioners and has referred to the affidavit-in-reply filed by the respondent No.2 and has submitted that their services are not required to be considered as they are not covered under the Government Resolution and in fact, he has contended that there is one more ground that respondent No.3 being a corporation promoted by the State Government, Government Resolution dated Page 4 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined 17.10.1988 is not applicable to the petitioners and, therefore, no benefit can be granted to the present petitioner and, therefore, he has prayed that no interference is required to be called for by this Court.
6. Mr. Jeet Jotangia, learned AGP for the respondent
- State has supported the submissions made at the bar by learned advocate for the respondent and has submitted that as such the present petitioners are employees of the corporation and the State Government has very limited say in the present petition. 7.1 Considering the submissions made at the bar by the respective parties and considering the fact that the petitioners are working since 2000 as daily wager, this Court as well as the Hon'ble Apex Court has time and again decided this issue by considering effect of State Government, Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988. 7.2 In view of this, it is relevant to refer the judgment dated 31.01.2013 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Special Civil Application No.1563 of 1992 and allied matters, more particularly, paragraph 10 is Page 5 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined relevant, as under:
"10. Considering the totality of the facts and law as discussed above, I find that the grouping of daily wagers sought to be made by the respondent Board on the basis of the cut off date of 30.11.1994, to deny benefits of Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988, is illegal and arbitrary and the same is rejected. It is held that even those daily wagers who are appointed after 30.11.1994 shall also be extended the benefits of Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 and thus, they will stand at par with the petitioners of Special Civil Application No.1563 of 1992 and shall also be entitled to the benefits, which are claimed by and are directed to be paid to the petitioners of Special Civil Application No.1563 of 1992."
7.3 In light of the above, the aforesaid order is confirmed by the Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 16.07.2014 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.325 of 2013 and allied matters.
7.4 Considering the fact that there are other judgments on the similar issue, but considering the above-mentioned observation in the judgment dated 31.01.2013 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Special Civil Application No.1563 of 1992 and allied matters, the issue Page 6 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/17543/2015 ORDER DATED: 25/06/2025 undefined involved in the present petition is also squarely covered. Therefore, the prayers made in the present petition is required to be considered and the present petition deserves to be allowed.
8. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed in terms of paragraph 5(A) of the present petition.
(SANDEEP N. BHATT,J) DIWAKAR SHUKLA Page 7 of 7 Uploaded by MR. DIWAKAR SHUKLA(HC01778) on Mon Jun 30 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jun 30 21:41:56 IST 2025