Gujarat High Court
Dhrol Nagar Palika vs Harunbhai Osmanbhai Jasraya on 15 February, 2024
Author: N.V.Anjaria
Bench: N.V.Anjaria
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/LPA/162/2024 ORDER DATED: 15/02/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 162 of 2024
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9276 of 2016
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 4 of 2023
In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 162 of 2024
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DHROL NAGAR PALIKA
Versus
HARUNBHAI OSMANBHAI JASRAYA
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Appearance:
MR DEEP D VYAS(3869) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR BHUNESH C RUPERA(3896) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4,5
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI
Date : 15/02/2024
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA)
The challenge in this Letters Patent Appeals is directed
against common judgment and order dated 18.10.2019 of
learned single Judge.
2. When the appeal comes up for consideration, learned
advocate for the appellant Mr.Deep Vyas as well as learned
advocate Mr.Bhunesh Rupera and learned Assistant Government
Pleader Ms.Shruti Dhruve for the respective parties stated that
the group of Letters Patent Appeal No.1391 of 2023 were filed
which arose from the very judgment and order of learned single
Judge and the said batch of appeals have been disposed of by
order dated 30.1.2024.
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C/LPA/162/2024 ORDER DATED: 15/02/2024
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3. The order passed in those group of Letters Patent Appeals
arising from the very judgment and order reads as under,
"2. The respective appeals filed under Clause 15
of the Letters Patent corresponds to the different
Special Civil Applications which came to be dismissed
by learned single Judge as per his common judgment
and order dated 18.10.2019. The original petitioners
in each of the cases were held entitled to receive the
pension. The Municipal as well as the State
authorities were directed to proceed to prepare the
pension case and pay the pension.
3. While similar in all cases, noticing the
relevant facts from the first captioned Letters Patent
Appeal No.1391 of 2023 relating to Special Civil
Application No.9274 of 2016, the prayer of the
petitioner was to declare that he was entitled and
eligible to get the pensionary benefit including the
arrears.
3.1 The case pleaded was inter alia that the
petitioner was appointed as daily wager since
16.4.1978 in the Water Works Department as
unskilled employer. The Industrial Court passed
judgment and award dated 14.10.1987 directing to
grant the permanency benefits to the employees of
the respondent including the petitioner, pursuant to
which 4th Pay Commission benefits were extended. It
is also the case that the amount from the salary of
the petitioner was deducted to be credited in G.P.F.
Scheme. The petitioner in this case stood
superannuated with effect from 23.3.2009.
3.2 The claim of the petitioner for grant of
pension was agitated by him by filing Special Civil
Application No.13251 of 2011, in which by order
dated 2.9.2011, this court directed the authorities to
consider the representation of the petitioner. As the
request of the petitioner was not acceded to by the
State authorities, he had an occasion to file the
present petition.
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C/LPA/162/2024 ORDER DATED: 15/02/2024
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3.3 It is an admitted position that the respondent
No.5 Dhrol Nagar Palika was an erstwhile Panchayat
and the petitioner was employee of the erstwhile
Panchayat who came to be subsequently absorbed in
the establishment of the Nagar Palika upon
conversion of the Panchayat into Nagar Palika. The
claim of pension of the petitioner is based on the long
services rendered by him, in capacity of the
Panchayat employee and subsequently absorbed as
Municipal employee in the Municipality.
3.4 The aspect was noted by learned single Judge
that the respondent Nagar Palika had made G.P.F.
scheme applicable to the employees and deduction
was also made from the salary of the employees.
4. Learned advocate for the Municipality submitted
that he has filed Civil Application No.1 of 2024
seeking to produce certain documents.
4.1 From the record of the aforesaid Civil
Application, learned advocate for the Municipality
drew attention of the court to communications dated
20.5.2022 and 26.4.2022 sought to be produced
which were the communications issued by the Office
of the Regional Commissioner of the Municipality to
the Chief Officer of the Municipality directing the
Municipality to prefer a appeal. Also sought to be
produced by the said Civil Application is a Resolution
dated 26.2.2008.
4.2 On perusal of the said Resolution, it could be
immediately noticed that the Resolution was not only
of the year 2008, it rather helped the petitioners for
its contents and providence. Learned advocate for
the Municipality was entirely at his receiving end
when asked about the purpose to produce such
Resolution at this stage.
4.3 Learned advocate for the Municipality invited
attention to the aforesaid documents sought to be
produced as additional evidence, he than went on to
submit even that there was no live dispute existing
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C/LPA/162/2024 ORDER DATED: 15/02/2024
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between the parties.
5. There is no gainsaying that the issue about
entitlement of the Municipal employees who are
members of the erstwhile Panchayat before
conversion of such Panchayat into Municipality, to
receive the pension, is covered by decision of the
Division Bench of this court in Chief Officer
Vs. Mohmad Irshad Husenbhai Baloch & Ors.
[2011(1) GDC 569] as also the decision of the
Supreme Court in Una Nagar Palika Vs. Kaliben
Balubhai Makwana & Anr. [2018 (11) SCALE
364]. The petitioners in those cases were also
identically placed employees working having been
absorbed in the Dhrol Nagar Palika.
5.1 An eye-catching aspect is that before learned
single Judge, on behalf of the State Government it
was given out that if Nagar Palika forwards the
pension papers of the petitioners, appropriate
decisions shall be taken for grant of pension in light
of the judgments mentioned above.
5.2 Even the Municipality submitted about the
entitlement of pension to the petitioners and to state
further that the State Government has to pay the
pension to the petitioners, it was recorded at the
instance of the Municipality that the pension papers
were already prepared and were forwarded to the
State Government. The challenge to the judgment
and order of learned single Judge in each cases is
lodges despite the settled law holding the field as per
the decision of the Supreme Court in Una Nagar
Palika (supra) and as per the decision of this court
in Mohmad Irshad Husenbhai Baloch (supra).
5.3 The Appeals are found to be not only
meritless but are filed even after the Municipality
and the State had evinced their clear stand before
learned single Judge about entitlement of the pension
to the petitioners. The conduct of preferring the
Appeal including the communication by the Office of
the Regional Commissioner of Municipality to the
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C/LPA/162/2024 ORDER DATED: 15/02/2024
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Municipality to prefer the appeal, after taking a
particular stand as noticed above, could partake to be
only a futile exercise, if not abuse of process of law.
5.4 It was on the basis of all the above that
learned single Judge rightly granted relief to the
respective petitioners. No error could be booked in
the judgment of learned single Judge.
6. For not imposing the costs on the State and
the Municipality, a lenient view is taken.
7. All the Letters Patent Appeals are dismissed.
In view of dismissal of the Appeals, the Civil
Applications will not survive. They are accordingly,
disposed of."
4. Since arising from the very judgment and order, it will
govern the present appeal.
5. This Letters Patent Appeal is disposed of. What is held and
observed therein would apply in the present case also. The
rights of the parties shall stand governed accordingly.
In view of disposal of the Appeal, the Civil Application also
stands disposed of.
(N.V.ANJARIA, J)
(PRANAV TRIVEDI,J)
Manshi
