Gujarat High Court
Vijaybhai Govindbhai Patel vs Gujarat Water Supply And Sewerage ... on 12 October, 2022
Bench: Biren Vaishnav
C/SCA/15455/2019 ORDER DATED: 12/10/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15455 of 2019
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VIJAYBHAI GOVINDBHAI PATEL
Versus
GUJARAT WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE BOARD
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Appearance:
MR PH PATHAK(665) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
MR. BHARGAV V PANDYA(7103) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV
Date : 12/10/2022
ORAL ORDER
1. Rule returnable forthwith. Mr. Bhargav Pandya,
learned advocate appearing for respondents waives
service of notice of Rule.
2. The case of the petitioners is that they are entitled
to the benefits of the resolution dated 17.10.1988.
3. Ms. Shree Pathak, learned advocate appearing for
the petitioners would submit that in an identical petition
of similarly situated employees, this court on 03.02.2022
passed the following order in Special Civil Application No.
C/SCA/15455/2019 ORDER DATED: 12/10/2022
15454 of 2019:
"1 At the outset, a request is made by
Mr.D.G.Chauhan, that he no longer appears for
the Board.
2 In this petition under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, the prayer of the
petitioner reads as under:
"15(A) The Hon'ble Court be pleased to
issue a writ of mandamus or any other
appropriate writ, order or direction
declaring the inaction on part of the
respondents, in extending the benefits of
GR dated 17/10/88 to the petitioner
employees, as arbitrary, illegal,unjust and
being discriminatory, violative of Art.14 &
16 of the Constitution of India and be
pleased to direct the respondent to extend
all the benefits of GR dated 17/10/88 to
the petitioner employees from
retrospective date with all arrears of
amount with 12% interest.
(B) The Hon'ble Court be pleased to
declare that the respondents have no
justification in not granting the pay and
status of class IV employees to the
petitioners at Annexure-A and hence, be
pleased direct the respondents to pay
minimum scale of pay with permissible
allowances to the petitioners and further
direct the respondents to pay all arrears of
salary to the petitioner employees with
12% interest.
(C) Pending admission and final disposal of
C/SCA/15455/2019 ORDER DATED: 12/10/2022
this petition, the Hon'ble Court be pleased
to direct the respondents to extend the
benefits of GR dated 17/10/88 to the
petitioner employees at Annexure-A, in
light of judgment of Hon'ble Supreme
Court, reported in 2013 (2) GLH pg. 692
forthwith.
(D) Pending admission and final disposal
of the present petition, the Hon'ble Court
be pleased to direct the respondents to
start paying the minimum pay scale with
permissible allowances payable to class IV
employees, to the petitioner employees
forthwith.
(E) Any other relief to which this Hon'ble
Court deem fit and proper in the interst of
justice may be granted together with
cost."
3 The facts would indicate that the petitioner
was employed on a vacant post of Class-IV for
more than ten years, and therefore, fulfilled the
condition of the Government Resolution dated
17.10.1988.
4 Mr.Pathak, learned counsel for the petitioner
has placed reliance on several decisions of this
Court, including the one rendered in Letters
Patent Appeal No. 325 of 2018 dated
27.08.2021.
5 Accordingly, the petition is allowed. The
respondents are directed to extend the benefits
of the Resolution dated 17.10.1988 to the
petitioner in accordance with law within a
C/SCA/15455/2019 ORDER DATED: 12/10/2022
period of eight weeks from the date of receipt
of copy of this order."
4. In view of the above, considering the fact that the
petitioners have rendered service for a period over 10
years, their case for extending the benefits of the
resolution dated 17.10.1988 be considered in light of the
law laid down by this court in Special Civil Application
No. 15454 of 2019 within a period of ten weeks from
the date of receipt of the writ of the order of this court.
Petition is accordingly allowed. Rule is made absolute.
Direct service is permitted.
(BIREN VAISHNAV, J)
DIVYA
