Gujarat High Court
Deepak Rahulbhai Kapadia vs The Director Marketing, Indian Oil ... on 21 November, 2025
Author: Bhargav D. Karia
Bench: Bhargav D. Karia
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/MISC. CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONTEMPT) NO. 2469
of 2024
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 16493 of 2017
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DEEPAK RAHULBHAI KAPADIA
Versus
THE DIRECTOR MARKETING, INDIAN OIL CORPORATION
LIMITED & ANR.
=============================================
Appearance:
PARTY IN PERSON(5000) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
M R BHATT & CO.(5953) for the Opponent(s) No. 1,2
MR. MANISH BHATT, SENIOR ADVOCATE WITH MR. MUNJAAL
M BHATT(8283) for the Opponent(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE L. S. PIRZADA
Date : 21/11/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA)
1. Heard Party-in-Person for the Applicant and learned Senior Advocate Mr. Manish Bhatt with Mr. Munjaal Bhatt for the Respondents.
2. By this application, the applicant - original petitioner -
party-in-person has prayed for the relief that respondent has not complied with the order dated 24.01.2024 passed by the learned Single judge in Special Civil Application No.16493 of 2017.
3. This Court issued the notice on 22.10.2024. Thereafter, Page 1 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025 undefined the following order was passed on 29.01.2025.
"Learned Senior Advocate Mr. Bhatt has submitted that since the Special Leave Petition filed by the Corporation is dismissed on 27.01.2025, the judgment and order passed by this Court will be complied with. However, he requests for four months' time. By the next date of hearing, it is directed that the respondent - Corporation shall extend all the benefits arising from the judgment and order passed by this Court. S.O. to 06.05.2025."
4. Thereafter, time was sought by the the applicant - party-
in-person in order to file affidavit pointing out the benefits which are yet to be paid by the respondents and the matter is taken up for today. Party-in-person invited the attention of the Court to the additional affidavit filed from page no.37 in compliance of the order dated 06.05.2025 wherein, the following averments are made "A. In the matter of Promotions:
1. The respondent - IOCL has adjusted my existing promotion dates for C grade from 31.03.2008, D Grade from 20.04.2012, and E grade from 27.03.2015.
2. The respondent - IOCL has also given me an additional promotion for F grade with effect from 15.02.2019.
3. It is worth noting that all my previous promotions, from 2008 to 2019, were timely, including the one of 2015 a fast-track promotion, which is a clear depiction of my Page 2 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025 undefined capabilities and hard work I put in my office work.
4. However, despite the passage of more than 6 years since last promotion, I have not been provided with the next promotion to G grade yet. Due to 3 years criteria, I became eligible for consideration for promotion in grade G from the year 2022. More than 3 years have passed since then.
B. In the matters of Pay, perks, and benefits:
9. The respondent corporation - IOCL, has released some arrears on pay and perks along with my salary for Apr'25 on 30.04.2025 (viz.
under heads of Basic Pay, Variable DA, House Rent Allowance, Profess. Upd. Allowance, Cafeteria Allowance, Leave Encashment (>300), Officiating Allowance, Leave Encashment (ESS), LFA, House Maintenance / House Upkeep, Fitness/Cult/Phi In/Wel, Helper/Sundry Expense.)
10. However, respondent - IOCL had not provided the basis and calculations for the above arrears to me, so it is not clear whether they had provided full and final arrears in the above heads.
11. The salary slip for Apr'25 and the Year-to- date payment for FY 2025-26 are attached as Annex-H Pg-91 and Annex-I Pg-92, respectively."
5. Learned Single Judge in the order dated 24.01.2024, issued the following directions:
"8.1 Under such circumstances, in the considered opinion of this Court, it would Page 3 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025 undefined clearly appear that the respondents had committed an error in resorting to sealed cover procedure in the year 2008 till the year 2014 more particularly by wrong.
9. In this view of the matter more particularly, having regard to the above discussion, observation and conclusion, the decision of the respondents of not giving effect to the recommendation of the DPC from the year 2008 onwards for promotion to the post of Deputy Manager is being declared as illegal and bad in law. The respondents are directed to forthwith open the sealed cover containing the recommendation of the DPC of the year 2008 onwards and to give effect thereto immediately but not later than a period of sex weeks from the date of receipt of this order."
6. In view of the facts stated in the additional affidavit-in- reply, it appears that the directions issued by this Court are already complied with by the respondent. It appears that the party-in-person now has filed the additional affidavit to expand the scope of the contempt proceedings by making the following prayers in the additional affidavit:
"Summary of the Additional /Modified Prayers:
YOUR LORDSHIPS, I humbly pray Hon'ble Court to order to the respondent IOCL Corporation for the following:
53.PROMOTIONS:
YOUR LORDSHIP, request to order to the respondent IOCL to release my-petitioner's promotion for G grade from the year 2022 and Page 4 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025 undefined promotion for H grade from the year 2025 to comply with the court judgement, as my ratings were downgraded biasedly by the respondent after I filed SCA petition in 2017.
54.REVIEW APA RATINGS:
For upgrading my APA ratings since year 2019- 2020 to Outstanding
55.ARREARS CERTIFICATION:
To provide a calculation sheet for arrears and certification of arrears payment made on the arrears heads which are already paid to me now and once full and final payments for the balance heads are made to me-the petitioner, in line to decide on compliance of the Hon'ble Court order dated 24.01.2024.
56.CLAIMABLE ARREARS:
On the similar grounds as LFA arrears, arrears of all my- petitioner's claimable benefits, like DA, Transfer benefits, Conveyance, etc. may be released by the respondent IOCL to me, without asking me to submit any further additional or differential claims as the reference data are readily available with the respondent in their SAP/ESS system. Differential TA-DA were auto-calculated earlier too when the revision of DA from retrospective effect took place in the past through the available ESS Portal Module.
57.COMPOUND INTEREST:
YOUR LORDSHIP, request to order to the respondent IOCL to provide me-the petitioner, the compound interest at 13% per annum on arrears of pay and perks, and other benefits in line with the CAGR rate of gold rate appreciation during the period from 31.03.2008 till the date of payment (case period).
58.LUMP SUM COST:
To provide the petitioner, the cost of legal expenditure equal to that spent by the respondent IOCL in SCA, LPA, and SLA in the connected Page 5 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/MCA/2469/2024 ORDER DATED: 21/11/2025 undefined matters, or ₹10 Lacs, whichever is higher.
59.LUMP SUM COMPENSATION:
To provide revised compensation amount for lump sum compensation of ₹20 Crore (instead of ₹5 Crore in earlier petition prayer), as the whole of my life and career is jeopardized as of now.
60. UPHOLDING OF CONTEMPT PETITION:
Also, YOUR LORDSHIPS, it is my humble request that this Contempt petition be upheld in view of the inordinate delay of 477 days from the deadline in the judgement order dated 24.01.2024, as on the next hearing date viz. 26.06.2025.
61.COMPLIANCE LETTER ON JUDGMENT ORDER DTD 24.01.2024:
Respondent IOCL must give a compliance certification of judgment dated 24.01.2024 though affidavit to this Hon'ble Court for this court to determine if the order has been fully obeyed or not."
7. The above prayers cannot be granted in contempt proceedings and the party-in-person is at liberty to avail appropriate remedy before the appropriate forum in accordance with law. We are of the opinion that there is no willful disobedience in compliance of the direction issued by this Court as the same is already admitted by the party-in-person in the additional affidavit. The application is therefore, dismissed no order as to costs.
(BHARGAV D. KARIA, J) (L. S. PIRZADA, J) Jaimin Page 6 of 6 Uploaded by MR.JAIMIN CHANDRAKANTBHAI PRAJAPATI(HCD0066) on Thu Nov 27 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 27 20:43:07 IST 2025