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Gujarat High Court
N J Mehta(Deceased) vs State Of Gujarat Through Principal ... on 3 December, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/7298/2010 JUDGMENT DATED: 03/12/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 7298 of 2010
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 7297 of 2010
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MAULIK J.SHELAT
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
√
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N J MEHTA(DECEASED) & ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT THROUGH PRINCIPAL SECRETARY & ORS.
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Appearance:
DECEASED LITIGANT THROUGH LEGAL HEIRS/ REPRESTENTATIVES for
the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR VAIBHAV A VYAS(2896) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1.1
MS FORUM SHAH, ASST.GOVERNMENT PLEADER for Respondent No.1,2,3
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MAULIK J.SHELAT
Date : 03/12/2025
COMMON ORAL JUDGMENT
1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Vaibhav Vyas appearing for
the petitioners and learned Assistant Government Pleader Ms.
Forum Shah appearing for the State respondents.
2. The issue germane in both these petitions is common
and identical one, so, by way of this common judgment, both
these petitions are decided together.
3. To better understand the issue, facts of writ petition,
being Special Civil Application No.7298 of 2010 are
considered which would refer hereinafter.
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4. The aforesaid petition has been filed, seeking the
following reliefs:
"(A) Declare and hold that, the petitioner is entitled to the pay-
scale of the cadre of Assistant Food and Civil Supplies
Controller, as the second higher grade scale, and
(B) quash and set aside the impugned order dated 29.6.2009
Annexure-A to this petition, to the extent it is inconsistent
with the claim of the petitioner as per prayer clause (A)
above, and
(C) direct the respondent authorities to grant, the pay-scale of
the cadre of Assistant Food and Civil Supplies Controller, as
the second higher grade scale, from due date as per rules,
with all consequential benefits, including arrears of pay, with
interest, and
(D) pending admission and final disposal of this petition the
Honourable Court may be pleased to direct the respondent
authorities to fix the pay-scale of the cadre of Assistant Food
and Civil Supplies Controller, as the second higher grade
scale, and give prospective effect to the said pay fixation,
and
(E) award the cost of the petition.."
SUBMISSIONS OF THE PETITIONERS :
5. At the outset, learned advocate Mr. Vyas appearing for the
petitioner would reiterate his submission as recorded by this Court
vide its order dated 19.10.2015 whereby, it has been submitted
before this Court that case of the petitioners is squarely covered by
judgment dated 23.08.2012 passed by the learned Single Judge of
this Court in Special Civil Application No.13621 of 2009 as
confirmed by judgment and order dated 05.01.2015 passed by
Division Bench of this Court in Letters Patent Appeal No.339 of
2013 and connected matters.
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5.1 Learned advocate Mr. Vyas would respectfully submit that
benefits which were given to one Mr. A. S. Rathod by the
respondents pursuant to the aforesaid judgment and order
passed by the Division Bench of this Court, similar benefits
require to be granted to the petitioners as well, inasmuch as,
case of the petitioners are also similar to the case of Mr. A. S.
Rathod.
5.2 Learned advocate Mr. Vyas would respectfully submit
that while giving the benefit of the second higher pay-scale to
the petitioner w.e.f. 01.08.2002, he was put in the higher pay
scale of Rs. 5000-8000, instead of Rs.6500-10500 as available
to the next promotional post, i.e. Assistant Food and Civil
Supply Controller Class-II. It is submitted that in the case of
Mr. A. S. Rathod, he was granted the benefit of the second
higher pay-scale w.e.f. 27.09.2003, whereby put in the higher
pay-scale of Rs.5500-9000, instead of Rs. 6500-10500 and
after considering the said anomaly, the learned Single Judge
as well as the Division Bench of this Court, by way of the
aforesaid respective decisions, directed the respondent-State
to grant the pay-scale of Rs. 6500-10500 to Mr. A. S. Rathod
w.e.f. 23.09.2003 in place of the pay-scale of Rs. 5500-9000.
5.3 Making the above submissions, the learned advocate for
the petitioners would request this Court to allow the present
petition.
SUBMISSIONS OF THE RESPONDENTS :
6. Per Contra, learned Assistant Government Pleader Ms.
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Forum Shah appearing for the respondents would respectfully
submit that in view of the final judgment and order dated
05.01.2015 passed by the Division Bench in Letters Patent
Appeal No.339 of 2013 as referred hereinabove, the claim of
the petitioners requires to be reconsidered.
6.1 Nonetheless, learned AGP Ms. Shah would submit that
the petitioner was initially appointed on the post of Junior
Clerk in the Food and Civil Supply Department on 20.08.1974,
then promoted on 23.07.2001 on the post of Assistant Zonal
Officer, but due to administrative exigency and in the public
interest, the petitioner was designated as Supply Inspector
w.e.f. 23.07.2001, thereby put in the pay-scale of Rs. 4000-
6000. Whereas, Mr. A. S. Rathod was appointed as a Junior
Clerk on 12.05.1973, got first promotion on the post of Supply
Inspector on 26.09.1979 and at given point of time put in the
pay-scale of Rs. 330-560 and later on, while granting the
second higher pay scale, put in the pay scale of Rs. 5500-
9000.
6.2 Learned AGP Ms. Shah would respectfully submit that
considering the aforesaid factual scenario, as a matter of
course, the petitioners would not be entitled to receive similar
benefits as granted by this Court to Mr. A. S. Rathod,
inasmuch as, case of Mr. Rathod and petitioners herein are
not as identical as claimed by them. So, according to the
learned AGP, there is no error on the part of the respondent -
State when put the petitioners in the higher pay scale of
Rs.5000-8000 instead of Rs. 6500-10500.
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ANALYSIS :
7. Having heard the learned advocates for the respective
parties and after going through their respective pleadings and
documents and so also the judgment and order dated
05.01.2015 passed by the Division Bench in Letters Patent
Appeal No.339 of 2013, following discernible:
(i) The claim made by the petitioners by way of these
petitions whereby complained that the respondent-
State, while granting the second higher pay-scale to the
petitioners w.e.f. 01.08.2002, wrongly put them in the
pay scale of Rs.5000-8000, instead of Rs. 6500-10500.
(ii) The basis of such claim would be that the next higher
promotional post from the post of Supply Inspector
where the petitioners were serving w.e.f. 23.07.2001
would be Assistant Food and Civil Supply Controller,
Class-II, thereby entitle to receive pay scale of said
higher promotional post as per Government Resolution
dated 16.08.1994/02.07.2007 issued by Finance
Department of State.
(iii) It is not in dispute that at the time of giving benefit of
the second higher pay scale to petitioners, the available
pay-scale of the next higher promotional post, i.e.
Assistant Food and Civil Supply Controller Class-II,
would Rs. 6500-10500.
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(iv) As per aforesaid G.R. dated 02.07.2007, whereby the
benefit of the second higher pay-scale was conferred
upon the petitioners, they were required to be given the
higher pay-scale of the next higher promotional post, i.e.
Assistant Food and Civil Supply Controller, Class-II,
thereby, they required to be put in the pay-scale of Rs.
6500-10500 instead of Rs. 5000-8000.
(v) It has been noticed by this Court that the similar was a
situation of Mr. A. S. Rathod who happens to be
colleague of the petitioners, also voiced his grievance
before this Court by way of writ petition, being Special
Civil Application No.13621 of 2009 which came to be
allowed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court vide its oral
judgment dated 23.08.2012, whereby directed the State
to give the second higher pay-scale of Rs. 6500-10500 to
Shri Rathod w.e.f. 27.09.2003, instead of 5500-9000 as
given to him by the State.
(vi) It further appears that the State carried the matter
before the Division Bench of this Court by way of
Letters Patent Appeal No.339 of 2013 which came to be
dismissed vide its judgment and order dated 05.01.2015
whereby the aforesaid oral judgment passed by the
Coordinate Bench has been confirmed.
8. Thus, in view of said facts, issue as germen in these
petitions, as to whether petitioners entitle to receive higher
pay scale of Rs. 6500-10500 instead of Rs. 5000-8000, when
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offered benefit of second higher pay scale?
9. As such, the aforesaid issue germane in this matter, is
squarely covered by the judgment and order dated 05.01.2015
passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Letters Patent
Appeal No.339 of 2013 which appears to have been accepted
by the respondent-State, wherein the Division Bench observed
and held thus :
"As is well known, the Government had implemented the scheme
for granting higher grade pay to certain levels of Government
employees who, on account of non-availability of promotional posts,
were stagnating in their cadre. As per such scheme, as can be seen
from the Resolution dated 5th July 1991, there was a provision for
grant of first higher pay scale on completion of nine years of service
in the relevant scale; provided that the employee had not received
two promotions earlier. It was clarified that the first higher grade
scale of pay shall be the scale of pay of the "next promotional
post". It was further provided that for employees in a post having
more than one promotional post in different scales of pay, the first
higher grade scale of pay shall be the pay of the lowest promotional
post. Likewise, the scheme envisaged grant of second higher grade
scale on completion of eighteen years of service in the relevant
scale. Such higher grade scale would be of the pay of the
promotional post corresponding to the first higher grade scale, with
the same stipulation that in case of more than one promotional
avenues, then the lowest promotional post's scale of pay would be
taken into consideration.
By virtue of Notification dated 31 st August 1991, the
employees in the existing cadre of Supply Inspectors continued to
draw salary in the higher pay-scale of Rs.1400-2600, but such pay
was considered personal to them. Necessarily therefore, by virtue of
this notification, it would follow that upon completion of nine years
of service, if the employee is entitled to first higher grade pay, such
benefit would merge into the benefit which he retained while the
pay scale of the new incumbents was down-graded. In other words,
such personal pay would cease to be personal and the Government
servant and by virtue of application of the scheme for higher grade
pay would in normal circumstances, start receiving such pay. If this
much is clear, his entitlement to the next higher grade scale would
thus arise upon completion of 18 years of service and the next
higher grade scale necessarily therefore has to be to the next scale
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of the promotional post, corresponding to the previous post in which
such pay-fixation was done.
Admittedly, in the department of Civil Supplies,
promotion from the post of Supply Inspector was available
to Assistant Food & Civil Supplies Controller. This post
carried the pay scale of Rs.650-1200 [pre-revised and upon
two pay revisions, the same carry the pay scale of Rs. 6500-
10500 w.e.f. 1st January 1996. The Department, therefore,
committed an error in placing the petitioner in the scale of
Rs. 5500-9000 which was not prescribed for any post in the
hierarchy of the Civil Supplies Department. It appears that the
said scale was prescribed for the post of Senior Accountant, which
cadre did not exist in the Civil Supplies Department. As noted, the
Government scheme was to grant the benefit of the pay scale of the
next higher promotional post and not merely some higher pay scale
at the discretion of the department. The learned Single Judge,
therefore, correctly directed the Government to grant the pay scale
of Rs.6500-10500 to the petitioner w.e.f. 23 rd September 2003 in
substitution of the Government's decision to the scale of Rs.5500-
9000."
(emphasis supplied)
10. In view of the aforesaid pronouncement by the Division
Bench, having so accepted by the respondent-State, thereby
granting the benefit of higher pay-scale of Rs.6500-10500
instead of Rs. 5500-9000 to Mr. A. S. Rathod being benefit of
pay scale of next higher promotional post i.e. Assistant Food
and Civil Supply Controller, Class-II, similar such treatment
requires to be meted out to petitioners as well. There is no
cavil that petitioners are also similarly situated like Mr. A. S.
Rathod, having promoted on the post of Supply Inspector,
entitled to receive the pay-scale of the next higher
promotional post, i.e. Assistant Food and Civil Supply
Controller, Class-II, i.e. Rs. 6500-10500, instead of Rs. 5000-
8000.
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11. In view of the aforesaid, I am unable to accept any of the
submissions so canvassed by learned AGP, rather this Court is
of the same view that the petitioners are wrongly put in the
higher pay-scale of Rs. 5000-8000, instead of Rs. 6500-10500
vide impugned order dated 29.06.2009 (Annexure-A) which
requires to be modified accordingly.
12. Thus, in view of the foregoing reasons, the impugned
order dated 29.06.2009 (Annexure-A) passed by respondent
No.3 herein is interfered with and would requires modification
to the extent that petitioners entitle to receive the second
higher pay-scale of Rs. 6500-10500 w.e.f. 01.08.2002, instead
of Rs. 5000-8000.
13. Accordingly, the respondents are hereby directed to
calculate the difference of such pay in view of the change of
higher pay-scale of the petitioners as aforesaid. Such
calculation and payment of arrears amount be made to the
petitioners and or his legal heirs by the respondents on or
before 31.03.2026.
14. As due to the modification of the higher pay-scale of the
petitioners, respondents require to give its effect to the
pension drawn by the petitioners. Consequently, respondents
shall have to re-calculate the amount of pension as
pensionable pay would get increase. Such calculation of
difference of pension amount may also be calculated and its
arrears of such pension amount be also paid to the petitioners
and or his legal heirs on or before 30.04.2026 and thereafter,
pay them regular pension accordingly.
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15. If respondents fail to grant aforesaid benefits within the
stipulated time as aforesaid, petitioners are entitled to receive
such benefits with interest at the rate of 9% from its default,
i.e. 01.04.2026 and 01.05.2026, on aforesaid amount
respectively, till its realization.
16. In view of the foregoing conclusion, the present petitions
are partly allowed. Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid
extent, accordingly. No order as to costs.
(MAULIK J. SHELAT, J)
GAURAV J THAKER
