Gujarat High Court
Chief District Health Officer vs Naagji Sonji Vyas on 6 February, 2024
Author: N.V.Anjaria
Bench: N.V.Anjaria
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/LPA/1205/2023 ORDER DATED: 06/02/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1205 of 2023
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9127 of 2020
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 2 of 2023
In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1205 of 2023
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CHIEF DISTRICT HEALTH OFFICER
Versus
NAAGJI SONJI VYAS
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Appearance:
MR HS MUNSHAW(495) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 3,4,5
MR SHALIN MEHTA, SR. ADVOCATE with MS ADITI S RAOL(8128)
for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MS SHRUTI DHRUVE, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI
Date : 06/02/2024
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA)
Heard learned advocate Mr. H.S. Munshaw for
the appellant, learned Assistant Government Pleader
Ms. Shruti Dhruve for respondent State and its
authorities as well as learned advocate Mr.Shalin
Mehta assisted by learned advocate Ms.Shikha
Panchal for respondent no.1-original petitioner.
2. Learned Single Judge by his common judgment
and order dated 19.07.2022 disposed of batch of
petitions. The petition corresponding to this
Letters Patent Appeal was Special Civil Application
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C/LPA/1205/2023 ORDER DATED: 06/02/2024
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No.9127 of 2020.
3. The prayers made in the petition by the
original petitioner were inter alia to require the
respondent authorities to consider the case of the
petitioner for regularisation/absorption in the
regular establishment, to extend minimum of the
pay-scale of the post and to extend the benefits of
Circular dated 16.07.2019 of the Finance
Department.
3.1 The very judgment of learned Single Judge
impugned in this Letters Patent Appeal was subject
matter of challenge in Letters Patent Appeal No.
724 of 2023 and allied appeals, which appeals
pertain to several of the Special Civil
Applications which were decided by common judgment
dated 11.08.2023.
3.2 There is no gainsaying that all of them
contain parallel facts and similar issue. The
Letters Patent Appeal No.724 of 2023 and group came
to be decided by the Division Bench as per judgment
and order dated 11.08.2023. In the said judgment,
the Division Bench inter alia examined the
observations and findings of learned Single Judge
found in paragraph 17 of the impugned judgment and
order, which dealt with the scope and
applicability of Circular dated 16.07.2019.
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C/LPA/1205/2023 ORDER DATED: 06/02/2024
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3.3 Learned Single Judge recorded thus in
paragraph 17,
"17. Reading the circular dated 16.7.2019, it
is very clear that Clause 1 of the circular
when read indicates that those who had worked
for more than four years were being paid
Rs.220/- and those who were working for less
than four hours, were being paid Rs.110/-. The
Circular, therefore, cannot be read in a
restricted manner to suggest that it cannot be
made applicable to those who were appointed
for less than four hours. That submission
would even be against the policy of giving a
minimum wage to the workmen."
4. While disposing of the Letters Patent Appeal
against the said judgment and order, the Division
Bench held to observe as under,
"32. In light of the above discussion, we
reached at an irresistible conclusion that the
opinion drawn by the learned Single Judge in
paragraph '17' of the judgment impugned,
giving interpretation to Clause-1 of the
Circular dated 16.07.2019 to grant benefit of
regular pay to the part-time employees working
for less than four hours, is based on wrong
assumptions. However, in view of the arguments
of the learned Senior Counsel for the
respondents - writ petitioners in light of the
facts of the instant case, as the writ
petitioners - respondents herein are covered
by the Circular dated 16.07.2019 as they have
demonstrated to have been working for six
hours or more in a day in different
departments of the State Government, we hold
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that the interpretation of the Circular dated
16.07.2019 in respect to those part-time
employees who were/are working for less than
four hours in a day, would not arise, in the
instant case."
4.1 It was further stated,
"33. For the above, the judgment and order
dated 19.07.2022 of the learned Single Judge,
in the case of the writ petitioners -
respondents herein, is modified with the
observation that the issue with regard to the
applicability of the Circular/ Government
Resolution dated 16.07.2019 with regard to the
part-time employees working for less than four
hours, is left open for examination by this
Court in an appropriate case. The observations
made by us hereinabove on the opinion drawn by
the learned Single Judge in paragraph '17' of
the judgment impugned that the circular cannot
be restricted to one category of part-time
employees, shall not be treated as a binding
precedent, inasmuch as, the issue of
interpretation of the contents of the Circular
dated 16.07.2019, has not arisen in the
instant case, in principle. It is further
clarified that the observations made
hereinabove with regard to the interpretation
of the Circular dated 16.07.2019 was only an
effort to arrive at a just decision in the
facts and circumstances of the instant case."
4.2 Finally, the judgment and order of learned
Single Judge was modified, stating thus,
"34. In view of the above, while modifying the
judgment and order dated 19.07.2022 passed by
the learned Single Judge in Special Civil
Application No.6852 of 2020 and allied
matters, to the above extent, with respect to
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the respondents herein - writ petitioners,
these bunch of appeals are disposed of. In
view of the disposal of the main appeals, the
connected Civil Applications also stand
disposed of."
5. Since the very judgment and order impugned in
this Letters Patent Appeal came to be dealt with
and the Division Bench pronounced about the
Circular dated 16.07.2019, it was submitted on
behalf of the respondent State as well as other
petitioners that the said judgment in Letters
Patent Appeal No. 724 of 2023 would govern the
rights and obligations of the parties and that the
appeal is not required to be entertained.
5.1 However, learned advocate for the appellant
submitted that the decision in Letters Patent
Appeal No. 724 of 2023 would not apply in the
present case inasmuch as the respondent was not in
service.
5.2 In this regard, the other side has invited
attention of the Court to the communication dated
23.03.2017 from the office of the District
Collector to the Commissioner, Health and Medical
Services, which showed that the petitioner was
working and that his grievance was about non-
absorption in service.
5.3 The said communication figures on record of
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the petition (Annexure-I, page no.118), which
mentions about the respondent-petitioner serving at
Dholavira in Bhachaua part-time worker. Be as it
may.
6. Since the very judgment and order of learned
Single Judge impugned in this petition and the
subject matter of controversy stand dealt with by
the Division Bench in Letters Patent Appeal No.724
of 2023 and allied appeals as per the judgment and
order dated 11.08.2023, the said judgment has to
govern the present case also.
6.1 The appellate jurisdiction is not a
clarificatory jurisdiction.
7. Accordingly, this appeal is disposed of.
Civil Application would not survive in view of
the disposal of the Letters Patent Appeal.
(N.V.ANJARIA, J)
(PRANAV TRIVEDI,J)
BIJOY B. PILLAI
