Laxmanji Popatji Thakore vs State Of Gujarat
2023 Latest Caselaw 3457 Guj

     C/SCA/4068/2023                             JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

               R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4068 of 2023


FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:


HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MAUNA M. BHATT                     sd/-

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1     Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed                 No
      to see the judgment ?

2     To be referred to the Reporter or not ?                          No

3     Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy                No
      of the judgment ?

4     Whether this case involves a substantial question                No
      of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
      of India or any order made thereunder ?

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                       LAXMANJI POPATJI THAKORE
                                 Versus
                           STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR CB DASTOOR(238) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

MS JYOTI BHATT, AGP for Respondent - State
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    CORAM:HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MAUNA M. BHATT

                             Date : 27/04/2023

                            ORAL JUDGMENT

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned Assistant Government

Pleader Ms. Jyoti Bhatt waives service of notice of Rule on

behalf of the respondent - State.

C/SCA/4068/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023

2. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India

is filed with the following prayers: -

A. Allow this Special Civil Application.

B. Your Lordship be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, order or direction directing the respondents to consider the case of petitioners for the grating the benefits of leave encashment to the extent of 300 days considering the total length of service of petitioners within a stipulated time as fixed by the Hon'ble Court and thereby be please to quash and set aside the impugned inaction of respondents in not granting the said benefits as illegal, arbitrary, unjust and violative of article 14 and 16 fo the Constitution of India.

C. Your Lordship be please to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order of direction directing the respondents to grant the benefits of the government Holidays as per the Government Circular and Judgment of Hon'ble Court.

D. Grant any other and further relief in the interest of justice.

3. Heard learned advocate Mr. C. B. Dastoor for the

petitioner and learned Assistant Government Pleader Ms. Jyoti

Bhatt for the respondent - State.

C/SCA/4068/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023

4. Learned advocate for the petitioners submitted that the

issue in the present petition pertains to grant of benefit of 300

days unavailed earned leave and not calculating the

retirement benefits of the petitioners from the date of

appointment. The prayers in relation to other benefits, if any,

referred in this petition, is not pressed at this stage.

4.1 He further pointed out that the issue involved in the

present petition which is in relation to payment of leave

encashment for 300 days leave as also counting the retirement

benefits available to the petitioners from the date of their

appointment, is no more res integra in view of decision of

Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 01.09.2022, in Special Leave

Petition (C) No. 7229 of 2022. Learned advocate for the

petitioner submitted that present petitioners were working

with the respondent No. 3 department with more than 3

decades and they all had retired upon attaining the age of

superannuation and therefore considering their continuous

service they are entitled for the benefits of leave encashment.

4.2 He pointed out that by Government Resolution dated

21.10.2022 of Irrigation Department, Gandhinagar had issued

C/SCA/4068/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023

directives for implementation of the decision of the Hon'ble

Supreme Court in Special Leave Petition (C) No.7229 of 2022.

5. In relation to leave encashment vide Government

Resolution dated 21.10.2022 issued by the Irrigation

Department, Gandhinagar has also taken a policy decision

which reads as under: -

"According to the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court referred in No. (1) above, since the Resolution of the Roads and Buildings Department dated 17-10-1988 also provides that the retirement benefits granted to daily workers include the benefit of "encashment of leave" also, as per the clause (5) of the State Litigation Policy of the State Government, daily wages workers are entitled to the benefit of conversion of leave into cash, the instructions in this regard regarding the payment of leave encashment to the daily wages worker petitioner under this section, instructions are hereby circulated as per the approval received vide informal note dated 17/10/2022 of the Finance Department on the equal numbered files as follows.

With reference to various claims filed before the Hon'ble Court, the petitioner daily wagers shall be paid the encashment of accrued leave (within the maximum limit of 300 leave accumulated) in cash as is being paid for regular services as per the policy of the Government, by calculating leave as per

C/SCA/4068/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023

the rules on the basis of the service record of the daily workers.

(1) Payment in case of retired petitioners who have completed 70 years of age as on 01/10/2022, shall be made by 31/10/2022,

(2) Payment to the remaining retired petitioner daily workers will be within three months i.e. by 31/12/2022."

6. The above factual position could not be controverted by

learned Assistant Government Pleader for the respondent -

State.

7. In view of the abovesaid position, this Court deems it

appropriate to direct the respondents to undertake scrutiny of

individual cases of each of the petitioners herein, and upon

such scrutiny, if they are found eligible then a proposal shall be

forwarded to the State Authorities in this regard and

thereafter, the State Authority shall consider proposal of each

of the petitioners herein expeditiously and in consonance with

the State policy.

8. It is reported that in many of such matters, the

concerned department has already moved a proposal to the

C/SCA/4068/2023 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/04/2023

State Government in this regard. However, wherever such

proposal is not moved, the same shall be moved by the

concerned department within a period of eight weeks from the

date of receipt of copy of writ of this order.

9. The aforesaid exercise shall be completed within a period

of twelve weeks from today.

10. With the aforesaid, the petition stands disposed of. Rule

is made absolute to the aforesaid extent. Direct service is

permitted. sd/-

(MAUNA M. BHATT,J) SHRIJIT PILLAI