Gujarat High Court
Shri Saraswati Kelvani Mandal ... vs Vinod R. Rao, State Of Gujarat on 1 December, 2023
Author: A.S. Supehia
Bench: A.S. Supehia
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/MCA/1844/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/MISC. CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR RESTORATION) NO. 1844
of 2023
In R/MISC. CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 557 of 2023
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SHRI SARASWATI KELVANI MANDAL UJDA-VADI SANCHALIT SHRI
SARASWATI VIDYALAYA
Versus
VINOD R. RAO, STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MS MAMTA R VYAS(994) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
for the Opponent(s) No. 2,3
MR AAKASH GUPTA, AGP for the Opponent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. R. MENGDEY
Date : 01/12/2023
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA)
1. Learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr.Aakash Gupta,
has tendered an affidavit-in-reply dated 30.11.2023 filed on
behalf of the respondent No.3. The same is ordered to be
taken on record. A copy of the same is also supplied to the
learned advocate Ms.Mamta Vyas, appearing for the applicant.
2. The present application has been filed seeking
restoration of the captioned Misc. Civil Application No.557 of
2023 in Special Civil Application No.15150 of 2019.
3. Learned advocate Ms. Mamta Vyas, appearing for the
applicant - original petitioner has submitted that this Court has
disposed off the captioned Misc. Civil Application No.557 of
2023 vide order dated 14.07.2023, which was filed for initiation
of contempt proceedings against the respondents for non-
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compliance of the directions issued by the learned Single Judge
vide judgment and order dated 27.07.2022 passed in the writ
petition being Special Civil Application No.15150 of 2019. It is
submitted that after the aforesaid order dated 14.07.2023
which records the statement of the respondents to comply with
the aforesaid order, the respondents have not actually
implemented the directions issued by the learned Single Judge,
in its true perspective. She has submitted that as per the
observations made in the paragraph No.9 as well as in the
paragraph No.11 of the judgment dated 27.07.2022, the
respondent-State is required to pay the arrears after
completion of 5 years of service of the employees of the
applicant / original petitioner - Trust. She has submitted that in
fact, after the contempt application was disposed off, the
service of the employees of the applicant / original petitioner -
Trust i.e. (i) by the order dated 07.10.2023, Shri Sanjaykumar
Rajnikant Patel was regularized with effect from 31.07.2016
and placed him in regular pay-scale. Similarly, she has
submitted that by the order dated 07.10.2023, another
employee - Shri Nanabhai Saburbhai Mehra, was regularized
with effect from 31.05.2012 and accordingly also, he was
placed in the regular pay scale. However, it is urged by the
learned advocate Ms. Mamta Vyas, that as per the directions
issued by the learned Single Judge vide judgment and order
dated 27.07.2022, the respondent - authorities have not paid
any arrears and they are entitled to arrears from 31.05.2012.
Hence, it is urged that the present application filed seeking
restoration of the contempt application may be allowed and
the contempt application may be revived.
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4. Per contra, learned Assistant Government Pleader
Mr.Aakash Gupta, appearing for the respondent - State
authorities, while placing reliance on the order dated
07.10.2023 and the communication annexed along with the
affidavit-in-reply has submitted that in fact, the directions
issued by the learned Single Judge is complied with and both
the employees of the applicant / original petitioner - Trust are
placed in the regular pay-scale, after they have completed 5
years of service. He has submitted that the prayers clause
made in the writ petition being Special Civil Application
No.15150 of 2019, though refers to the payment of arrears
along with interest, however while issuing the final directions,
the learned Single Judge has not directed to pay any arrears
but has only issued direction to regularise the service of the
non-teaching staff of the employees of the applicant / original
petitioner - Trust i.e. Shri Sanjaykumar Rajnikant Patel and Shri
Nanabhai Saburbhai Mehra, in accordance with the order dated
08.03.2007 and pay his salary accordingly. He has submitted
that accordingly, the order has been complied with and both
the employees are placed in regular pay-scale after completion
of 5 years.
5. Learned Assistant Government Pleader has further
submitted that in fact, the statement made in the paragraph
No.5 with regard to the payment of arrears to the applicants is
incorrect and it is a typographical error on his part. It is
submitted that the employees of applicant / original petitioner
- Trust are placed in regular pay-scale by the order dated
07.10.2023. He has also submitted that in fact, both the
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C/MCA/1844/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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employees are paid the arrears from 13.07.2023 to
30.11.2023, after placing them in regular pay-scale.
6. Heard learned advocates appearing for the respective
parties.
7. The present application is filed seeking restoration of the
Misc. Civil Application No.557 of 2023 on the ground that the
directions issued in the writ petition being Special Civil
Application No.15150 of 2019 vide judgment and order dated
27.07.2022 are not complied with by the respondents.
8. The applicant had filed the captioned Misc. Civil
Application No.557 of 2023 seeking initiation of contempt
proceedings for non-compliance of the directions issued by the
learned Single Judge vide judgment dated 27.07.2022. The
said application was disposed of by the order dated
14.07.2023 by observing thus : -
"1. When the matter is taken up for
hearing, learned Assistant Government Pleader
has tendered an order dated 13.07.2023 and has
submitted that the directions issued by this
Court are already complied with and the
respondent authorities have also sanctioned the
payment and actual benefits will be paid to the
applicant within a period of four weeks. The
order dated 13.07.2023 is ordered to be taken
on record.
2. In view of the aforesaid submission advanced
by the learned Assistant Government Pleader,
the present contempt proceedings are closed and
the same stand disposed of accordingly. Liberty
is reserved in favour of the petitioner to
revive the present application, in case, the
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actual benefits are not paid by the respondent
authorities within a period of six weeks.
3. It is clarified that if the actual benefits
are not paid and the petitioner is constrained
to revive the present proceedings, an exemplary
personal costs would be imposed on the Officer,
who is handing the file."
9. As recorded in the order dated 14.07.2023, by the order
dated 13.07.2023, the respondent-authorities had already
regularised the service of the employees of the applicant /
original petitioner - Trust, with all the conditions mentioned
therein, however the same was not implemented and in view
of the statement recorded by the learned Assistant
Government Pleader that the contempt application was
disposed of. It appears that thereafter, since the order dated
13.07.2023 passed by the State-authority was not
implemented, the instant application for seeking restoration is
filed.
10. During the pendency of the present application, the
learned Assistant Government Pleader has submitted that in
fact, both the employees of the applicant / original petitioner -
Trust are placed in the regular pay-scale and they are also paid
arrears of such pay-scale from 13.07.2023 to 30.11.2023 as
per the statement annexed in the present application.
11. At this stage, it would be apposite to refer to the
directions issued by the learned Single Judge in the judgment
dated 27.07.2022, the same is incorporated as under.
"11. The respondents are directed to take
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into consideration this development and pass
appropriate orders of regularizing the
services of the non teaching staff namely;
Shri Patel Sanjaybhai and Shri Mahera
Nanabhai in accordance with the order dated
08.03.2007 and pay salaries accordingly. Such
exercise shall be carried out within a period
of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of
copy of this judgment."
12. A bare perusal of the direction issued by the learned
Single Judge clarifies that the learned Single Judge had
directed the respondent authorities to pass appropriate orders,
"of regularising the service of Shri Patel Sanjaybhai and Shri
Mahera Nanabhai in accordance with the order dated
08.03.2007 and pay salaries accordingly".
13. Thereafter, the respondent-authorities had passed the
orders dated 07.10.2023 placing the employees of the original
petitioner Trust in the regular pay scale after completion of 5
years of service from their initial date of appointment. The
employees Shri Sanjaybhai Rajnikant Patel has been
regularised with effect from 31.07.2016, whereas the
employee Shri Nanabhai Saburbhai Mahera, is regularized with
effect from 31.05.2012 and he is placed in the regular pay
scale.
14. Today, in the present application, an issue has been
there that the employees are not paid actual arrears from their
respective date of regularisation i.e. from 31.07.2016 in case
Shri Sanjaykumar Rajnikant Patel and from 31.05.2012 in case
of Shri Nanabhai Saburbhai Mahera.
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C/MCA/1844/2023 ORDER DATED: 01/12/2023
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15. As noted hereinabove, the direction issued by the learned
Single Judge in paragraph No.11 does not remotely suggest of
payment of arrears. It only says about paying of salaries. It is
not in dispute that the State Government after regularizing the
service and fixing their pay-scale are paying their salaries in
new pay-scale.
16. In case, the applicant / original petitioner - Trust is
aggrieved by such action, it is always open for the applicant /
original petitioner Trust to file appropriate proceeding before
the appropriate forum.
17. In view of the above, the present application stands
disposed of.
(A. S. SUPEHIA, J)
(M. R. MENGDEY,J)
MAHESH/01
