Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Gorabhai Kalubhai Solanki on 15 December, 2021
Bench: Aniruddha P. Mayee
C/LPA/1056/2021 ORDER DATED: 15/12/2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1056 of 2021
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 23286 of 2019
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2021
In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1056 of 2021
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
GORABHAI KALUBHAI SOLANKI
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Appearance:
MR URMILA DESAI AGP for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3
for the Respondent(s) No.
1,10,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,11,110,111,112,113,114,115
,116,117,118,119,12,120,121,122,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,2,20,21,22,23,24,25,
26,27,28,29,3,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,4,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,4
9,5,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,6,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,7,70,71,7
2,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,8,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,9,90,91,92,93,94,95,
96,97,98,99
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.H.VORA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE
Date : 15/12/2021
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE)
1. The present Letters Patent Appeal takes exception to
judgment and order dated 03.08.2021 passed in Special Civil
Application Nos. 23242 and 23286 of 2019.
2. The brief facts leading to filing of the present appeal
are as follows :-
2.1 The respondents herein have rendered their services
ranging from 20 to 44 years as rojamdars.
C/LPA/1056/2021 ORDER DATED: 15/12/2021
2.2 The appellants accordingly fixed their pension as per
Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 by deducting their 10
years of service. Aggrieved, the respondents filed Special Civil
Application Nos.23242 and 23286 of 2019 praying for the following
reliefs :-
"(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to admit and
allow this petition;
(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ
of mandamus and/or any other appropriate writ, order or
direction :
(i) to hold and declare that action
on the part of the respondents in not making
full payment of pensionary benefits to the
petitioners by counting their entire length of
service from the date of joining till date of
retirement as illegal, unjustified, arbitrary
and further be pleased to direct the
respondents to fix the pension of the
petitioner by counting his service from date
of joining until the date of retirement and fix
the pension accordingly;
(ii) to hold and declare that the
petitioners are entitled to all other retiral
benefits including benefit of leave
encashment and be pleased to further direct
the respondents to pay amount of leave
encashment of leave standing in the account
of the petitioners.
(iii) to direct the respondents to
pay difference of pensionary benefits,
gratuity amount and leave encashment with
18% interest from the date when it fell due.
(B) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal
of this petition, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to direct
the respondents to immediately revise the pension of the
petitioners on the basis of their total length of service.
(C) Your Lordships may be pleased to grant such
other and further relief that may be deemed fit and proper in
the facts and circumstances of the case."
C/LPA/1056/2021 ORDER DATED: 15/12/2021
2.3 By judgment and order dated 03.08.2021, the learned
Single Judge was pleased to allow the Special Civil Applications.
2.4 Aggrieved, the appellants herein have preferred the
present Letters Patent Appeal.
3. Learned Assistant Government Pleader Ms. Urmila
Desai submitted that the respondents herein are not entitled to
receive the benefit of fixation of pensionary benefits from the initial
date of appointment, but are only entitled to receive the same from
the date of regularization. It was further submitted that for the
purpose of calculation of pension, the services of an employee
pursuant to regularization is only to be considered and the initial
service as Rojamdar cannot be considered. Learned AGP
accordingly prayed that the Letters Patent Appeal be allowed.
4. It is seen that the present issue is now well settled by
this Court through catena of judgments. This Court in (I) State of
Gujarat and anr. vs. Mahendrakumar Bhagvandas & Anr.
reported in 2011 (2) GLR 1290, (II) the Division Bench
judgment rendered in Letters Patent Appeal No.764 of 2019
in the case of Sardarbhai Panabhai Chauhan vs. State of
Gujarat (III) Executive Engineer, Panchayat vs. Samudabhai
Jyotibhai Phedi reported in 2017 (4) G.L.R. 2952 (IV) Order
dated 21.08.2019 passed in Special Civil Application
No.11086 of 2019 and various other judgments, has held that the
employees like the present respondents are entitled to payment of
pensionary benefits by taking into consideration the entire length
of service from the date of initial joining. Some of these judgments
have also been confirmed upto the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
5. When specifically this legal position was put to the
learned AGP, she could not dispute the same.
C/LPA/1056/2021 ORDER DATED: 15/12/2021
6. In this conspectus of the matter, this Court is of the
opinion that there is no error in the impugned judgment and order
passed by the learned Single Judge and it has been rightly held that
the respondents herein are entitled to the benefits claimed by
them. In the premises, the present Letters Patent Appeal is
dismissed. No order as to cost. Consequently, connected Civil
Application does not survive and accordingly, it stands disposed of.
(S.H.VORA, J)
(ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE,J)
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