Gujarat State Road Transport ... vs Hirabhai Khimajibhai Bharai
2023 Latest Caselaw 2357 Guj

       C/LPA/339/2023                              ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

              R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO.      339 of 2023

       In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 20745 of 2022

                                With
            CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2023
             In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 339 of 2023
                                With
              R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 340 of 2023
                                  In
            SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 20846 of 2022
                                With
            CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2023
             In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 340 of 2023
                                  In
            SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 20846 of 2022
==========================================================
              GUJARAT STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION
                                Versus
                     HIRABHAI KHIMAJIBHAI BHARAI
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR HS MUNSHAW(495) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
 for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5,7
MR KURVEN DESAI, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 6
==========================================================

     CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE VIPUL M. PANCHOLI
           and
           HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE H. D. SUTHAR

                           Date : 17/03/2023

                        ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE VIPUL M. PANCHOLI)

1. Both these appeals are filed by the appellant - original respondent challenging the common oral judgment dated 12.01.2023 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application Nos. 20745 of 2022 and 20846 of 2022.

C/LPA/339/2023 ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023

2. As the issue involved in both these appeals is similar, learned advocates appearing for the parties jointly requested that both these appeals be heard together.

3. For the sake of convenience, the facts as stated in Special Civil Application No.20745 of 2022 are considered for disposal of these appeals.

4. It is the case of the petitioners that they applied pursuant to the advertisement given by the original respondent - Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation for recruitment to the post of driver. The petitioners cleared the examination and they were selected. The documents produced by the petitioners were verified. It is the case of the petitioners that though the petitioners were selected, they did not receive any appointment order for the said post. On inquiry, it was informed to the petitioners that the caste certificates of the concerned petitioners were not supplied to them as the same is under scrutiny by the State Government and the State Government has formed a committee to verify the caste certificates of Bharvad, Rabari and Charan community residing in the area of forest Gir, Barda and Alech in Saurashtra region of the Gujarat State. The said Scrutiny Committee has not submitted the report.

5. The petitioners, therefore, challenged the said action/inaction on the part of the respondents by

C/LPA/339/2023 ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023

filing the captioned petition.

6. The learned Single Judge, vide impugned common oral judgment dated 12.01.2023, allowed the petitions filed by the petitioners and therefore the appellant has filed the present appeals.

7. Learned advocates appearing for the parties jointly submitted that the issue involved in the present appeals is covered by the oral order dated 31.01.2023 passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Letters Patent Appeal No.1745 of 2022 and allied matters. Copy of the said order is produced on record.

8. In the aforesaid order, the Division Bench of this Court, after considering the order passed by the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Commissioner, Tribal Development Department v. Ravi Devraj Chavda passed in Letters Patent Appeal No.984 of 2021, dismissed the appeals filed by the present appellant. The Division Bench of this Court has in the order dated 31.01.2023 observed in para 3.2 to 3.6, 5, 5.1, 5.2 and 6 as under:

"3.2 While issuing notice in these Letters Patent Appeals, this court had an occasion to pass the following order on 4.1.2023, "2. The controversy which could be figured out in the Appeals are that the private respondents who fared for the post of Drivers/Conductors

C/LPA/339/2023 ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023

were denied the consideration in the category of Scheduled Tribe on the ground of doubting the veracity of caste certificate they were holding.

3. Learned Single Judge, while deciding their petitions seeking relief, inter alia directed that appointments of the petitioners should be provisional and in case it is found by the Scrutiny Committee that the certificate of the petitioners were not genuine, the petitioners could not be entitled the benefit of being provisional in service. In other words, learned Single Judge has put the only condition about verification of the caste certificate of the petitioners for its genuineness. Eight weeks time is granted in the impugned order to the Scrutiny Committee to decide about the genuineness of the certificate.

4. Looking to the contours of the controversy and particularly noticing that Tribal Development Department through the Secretary of the Department is party respondent in all the cases and the said respondent is the competent authority who would decide about the genuineness about the certificate, we direct the said respondent to proceed to examine the genuineness of the certificate of the respective original petitioners and file necessary affidavit in that regard on the next date."

3.3 Today, when the appeals came up for consideration, learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Krutik Parikh invited attention of the court to the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of respondent No.3-the Tribal Development Officer in the office of Director of Tribal Development, Gandhinagar, which is filed in Letters Patent Appeal No. 1745 of 2022 stating in paragraph No.4 thus,

"...protest and agitations were held by Tribal communities alleging that caste certificates have been granted to people not living in

C/LPA/339/2023 ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023

theness area in the forest of Gir, Alech and Barda areas of Gujarat and have thereby, being conferred the status of scheduled Tribe illegally and are thus, enjoying the benefits of recruitment and reservations in the Government Jobs. In view of such, representations and protests, the State Government has constituted a Committee to verify the ancestors and heirs of people belonging to Rabari, Bharwad and Charan community living in theness area in the forest of Gir, Alech and Barda areas of Gujarat, as on 29.10.1956."

3.3.1 It was further stated in paragraph No.5 and 6, "...the Committee as constituted in pursuance to the Government Resolution stated hereinabove, would undertake a detailed examination and Inquiry into the ancestry of the people belonging to Rabari, Bharwad and Charan community living in theness area in the forest of Gir, Alech and Barda areas of Gujarat and submit a report to the Government. The State Government would consider the report and take an appropriate decision upon the same thereafter, would pass necessary instructions to the office of answering Respondent for the purpose of scrutinizing the caste certificates to the people belonging to the aforementioned communities. .....the term of the committee constituted in pursuance to the Government Resolution dated 04.08.2020 has been extended from time to time and the last extension is granted till 03.02.2023."

3.4 The respondent stated that term of the Committee constituted pursuant to the government resolution came to be extended from time to time. It was stated that committee has yet not prepared its report.

3.5 Responding to the court's order dated 4.1.2023, it was stated in the affidavit, "....the office of Answering Respondent is not in a

C/LPA/339/2023 ORDER DATED: 17/03/2023

position to examine the genuineness of caste certificates of the original petitioners."

3.6 It was stated that in the above view, the committee has not been able to examine the genuineness of the certification.

xxx xxx xxx

5. In Letters Patent Appeal No. 984 of 2021 in Commissioner, Tribal Development Department vs. Ravi Devraj Chavda decided on 25.11.2021, similar order of learned single Judge came to be upheld by the co-ordinate Bench. It was observed that the candidate concerned had fared the recruitment process successfully and had been waiting for his appointment since long time, however, the appointment was denied on the aforesaid ground.

5.1. The court proceeded to observed in para 7, "It is not disputed that the sole respondent is awaiting his appointment, as the appellants have been unable to verify his caste certificate for a period of more than two years. The learned Single Judge has further rightly held that the sole respondent cannot be allowed to sit idle only because the State authorities are taking time to verify his caste certificate. Therefore, it has been rightly directed that the appellants herein should give provisional appointment to the sole respondent subject to outcome of the verification of his caste certificate"

5.2 In the same way, learned Assistant Government Pleader was fair to produce before the court copy of order dated 8.11.2022 passed by the Letters Patent Bench passed in Letters Patent Appeal No. 973 of 2022 and allied matters in State of Gujarat vs. Vivek Danabhai Sindhal, wherein the decision of the Division Bench in Ravi Devraj Chavda (supra) was relied on and the Letters Patent Appeals came to be dismissed.

6. This court is in total agreement with the aforesaid order passed by the co-ordinate Bench

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in Ravi Devraj Chavda (supra) and in Vivek Danabhai Sindhal (supra). Since the present Letters Patent Appeals involve the identical issue, they also deserve the same treatment."

9. We are of the view that the issue involved in the present appeals is also covered by the aforesaid order. Accordingly, both the appeals filed by the appellant - GSRTC are hereby dismissed. The order of clearing provisional appointment of the petitioners concerned are hereby upheld.

10. In view of dismissal of the main appeals, civil applications do not survive and accordingly stand disposed of.

(VIPUL M. PANCHOLI, J)

(H. D. SUTHAR,J) LAVKUMAR J JANI