Gujarat High Court
Hirabhai Danabhai Chamar vs State Of Gujarat on 25 October, 2021
Bench: Nikhil S. Kariel
C/SCA/11759/2021 ORDER DATED: 25/10/2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11759 of 2021
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HIRABHAI DANABHAI CHAMAR
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR GAURAV K MEHTA(5227) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2,3
MS SURBHI BHATI, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
NOTICE SERVED BY DS(5) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIKHIL S. KARIEL
Date : 25/10/2021
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Gaurav K. Mehta for
the petitioners and learned AGP Ms. Surbhi Bhati for the
respondent-State.
2. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned AGP waives
service of Rule for the respondent-State.
3. By way of this petition, the petitioners inter alia seek
grant of benefit of payment of salary in minimum of pay
scale.
4. Learned Advocate for the petitioners would submit
that Co-ordinate Bench of this Court (Coram : Mohinder
Pal, J) vide judgment dated 21.12.2018 in Special Civil
Application No. 7463 of 2012 and allied cases had been
C/SCA/11759/2021 ORDER DATED: 25/10/2021
pleased to inter alia hold that part-time employees, ad-
hoc employees, casual labourers etc. would be entitled to
draw wages in minimum of the pay scale i.e. at the lowest
grade in the regular pay scale extended to the regular
employees holding the same post. Learned Advocate
would submit that the said decision of the Co-ordinate
Bench has been confirmed by the Hon'ble Division Bench
of this Court (Coram : Anant Dave, ACJ and Biren
Vaishnav, J) vide judgment dated 19.05.2019 in Letters
Patent Appeal No.1155 of 2019 and allied matters.
Learned Advocate would further submit that based upon
the decisions of this Court referred to herein above, the
State Government has come out with a policy decision
vide Circular dated 16.07.2019 of giving salary in
minimum of pay scale to temporary employees. Learned
Advocate would further submit that as per the Circular
dated 16.07.2019, the benefit of payment of salary in
minimum of pay scale would be available to the part-time
employees with effect from 01.01.2019, if the concerned
employee was in service on 01.01.2019.
5. As against the same, learned AGP could not point
out about the decision of the Co-ordinate Bench,
confirmed by the Hon'ble Division Bench being interfered
with by the Hon'ble Apex Court. Learned AGP also could
not contradict the fact of Circular dated 16.07.2019 being
in force as on date. Learned AGP would submit that
whether the benefit of decisions of this Court as well as
C/SCA/11759/2021 ORDER DATED: 25/10/2021
policy of the State Government being applicable to the
petitioner or not may be left to the respondent authorities
to decide.
6. Having regard to the submissions made by learned
Advocates for the parties, this Court proposes to dispose
of the present petition with the following directions :
(A) The respondent - District Collector,
Panchmahal, in whose office (Revenue
Department) the petitioners are working at present
shall within a period of three weeks from the date
of receipt of this order forward a proposal to the
parent department i.e. Revenue Department, State
of Gujarat. The proposal would be recommending
the case of the petitioners for being paid salary in
minimum of pay scale if the petitioners are entitled
to the same after appropriate examination by the
department. In case the office/department where
the petitioners are working is of the opinion that
the petitioners are not entitled for benefit of
Circular dated 16.07.2019, then the petitioners
shall be informed accordingly in writing.
(B) The parent department being Revenue
Department, State of Gujarat, shall examine the
proposal sent to it, more particularly as regards
C/SCA/11759/2021 ORDER DATED: 25/10/2021
the entitlement of the present petitioners to the
benefit of Circular dated 16.07.2019 and whereas
if the petitioners are found entitled to the same,
then the said proposal shall be forwarded to the
Finance Department, State of Gujarat, within a
period of two weeks from the date of receipt of the
proposal. In case the parent department is of the
opinion that the petitioners are not entitled to the
said benefit, the same shall be informed to the
petitioners in writing.
(C) The Finance Department, State of Gujarat
upon receipt of the proposal shall examine the
same as regards the entitlement of the petitioners
to the benefit of Circular dated 16.07.2019 and
shall pass appropriate orders for payment of
arrears and payment of salary regularly in
minimum of pay scale.
7. The respondent authorities shall do well to
appreciate that as such having taken a policy decision
vide Circular dated 16.07.2019, it was incumbent upon
the State Government and its concerned departments to
have suo-motu done the exercise of identifying persons
who are entitled to the benefit of Circular dated
16.07.2019 and to make appropriate payments in their
favour. Having not done so and the petitioners being
C/SCA/11759/2021 ORDER DATED: 25/10/2021
required to approach this Court for redressal of their
grievance, therefore it is clarified that the time set out by
this Court as stipulated herein above is the outer most
time limit and whereas each of the departments shall
strictly abide by the time limit and whereas the proposals
or final order, as the case may be, shall be forwarded or
passed within the period stipulated herein above without
fail.
8. It is clarified that this Court has not gone into the
aspect of whether the petitioners are entitled to the
benefit of Circular dated 16.07.2019 and whereas the
concerned respondents shall take appropriate decision in
accordance with law. It is further clarified that in case
the petitioners were to be aggrieved with the decision of
any of the concerned respondents, then it would be open
for the petitioners to avail appropriate remedy as
available to them under the law.
9. With the above limited observations and directions,
the present petition is disposed of as allowed. Rule is
made absolute to the aforesaid extent. Direct service is
permitted.
(NIKHIL S. KARIEL,J)
V.V.P. PODUVAL
