Gujarat High Court

Jitendrakumar Patel S/O Aditbhai vs Vice Chancellor on 27 November, 2025

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                             C/SCA/19515/2019                                          ORDER DATED: 27/11/2025

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                                    IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                                     R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 19515 of 2019

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                                        JITENDRAKUMAR PATEL S/O ADITBHAI & ANR.
                                                         Versus
                                                VICE CHANCELLOR & ORS.
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                       Appearance:
                       MR. DWIJEN JOSHI(8518) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
                       MR DP JOSHI(1163) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
                       MR. PARTH PATEL, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 3-STATE
                       MR DG CHAUHAN(218) for the Respondent(s) No. 2-UNIVERSITY
                       NOTICE SERVED BY DS for the Respondent(s) No. 1,4
                       RONAK D CHAUHAN(7709) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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                         CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MAULIK J.SHELAT

                                                              Date : 27/11/2025
                                                               ORAL ORDER

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned advocate Mr.

D.G. Chauhan and learned AGP Mr. Parth Patel waive

service of notice of rule on behalf of respective

respondents. With consent of the parties, the matter is

taken up for final hearing.

2. Heard Mr. Dwijen Joshi, learned counsel for

petitioners, Mr. D.G. Chauhan, learned counsel for the

respondent No.2-University and Mr. Parth Patel, learned

Assistant Government Pleader for the respondent No.3-

Stater.

3. The present writ petition is filed under Articles 14,

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16, 21 and 226 of the Constitution of India, inter alia,

seeking the following reliefs:

"(A) This Hon'ble court be pleased to admit and allow this petition;

(B) The Hon'ble court may be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction including the writ in the nature of mandamus and quash and set aside the illegal, unjust and arbitrary action of the Respondents in recovering the amount paid to the present petitioners by way of advance increments under the career advancement scheme.

(C) The Hon'ble court may be pleased to issue appropriate writ order or direction including the writ in the nature of mandamus and direct the respondents to return the amount wrongly recovered from the present petitioners and be pleased to award the return of the wrongfully recovered amount along with 18% interest."

4. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF PETITIONERS:

4.1 At the outset, learned counsel Mr. Dwijen Joshi,

learned counsel for petitioners would respectfully submit

that the issue germane in the matter is squarely covered

by the decision dated 31.03.2016 passed by the Co-

ordinate Bench of this Court in Special Civil Application

No. 1706 of 2010 and allied matters, whereby the

amount which is wrongly recovered from the petitioners

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herein, requires to be repaid to petitioners with interest

by respondents.

4.2 Learned counsel Mr. Joshi would respectfully state

that the petitioners herein were appointed as Junior

Research Assistant with the respondent University and

during the course of their employment, they were paid

benefits under the Career Advancement Scheme, thereby

paid advance increment for holding the degree of Doctor

of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and for movement from the position

of Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. Nonetheless,

the same was later on recovered by the respondents.

4.3 Learned counsel Mr. Joshi would respectfully submit that similarly situated persons like petitioners have

approached this Court by way of Special Civil Application

No. 1706 of 2010 and allied matters, wherein after

appreciating the submissions advanced by the respondents

and so also taking note of the Resolution dated

12.09.2014 issued by the State Government, through its

Education Department, the recovery sought for from such

similarly situated persons ordered to be refunded back to

them. It is further submitted and pointed out to this

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Court that in paragraph-12 of the aforesaid decision, this

Court has categorically directed the respondent University

to prepare the list of employees, who voluntarily

deposited the amount and the same shall be paid to

them within a period of two months from the date of

the judgment. It is submitted that despite such order, no

action has been taken by the respondent to repay the

amount to the petitioners; further, petitioner No.1

approached the respondent University vide its

representation dated 13.11.2017, but no response was

received from respondents. So, constrained to approach

this Court by way of this petition.

4.4 According to submissions of learned counsel Mr. Joshi, pursuant to the aforesaid judgment, which is never

challenged by the respondents and as such, as per the

aforesaid Resolution dated 12.09.2014, whereby it was

incumbent upon the respondents to refund the amount so

recovered from the petitioners with interest, having not

refunded amount to petitioners, it violates its

fundamental rights to receive such benefit.

4.5 Making the above submissions, learned counsel for

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the petitioners would request this Court to allow the

present writ petition.

5. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT -

UNIVERSITY:-

5.1 Per contra, Mr. D.G. Chauhan, learned counsel for the respondent No.2 - University states that pursuant to

the direction and order issued by the State vide its

Circular dated 10.06.2011, the respondent University has

recovered the amount from the petitioners along with the

other similarly situation persons. Furthermore, learned

counsel Mr. Chauhan candid in his submission that the

case of the petitioners may be covered by the aforesaid

decision dated 31.03.2016 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court. However, he would respectfully

submit that there is no male fide intention on the part

of the respondent University not to repay the amount to

the petitioners, but due to administrative exigency, no

final decision was taken by the respondent University to

refund such amount.

5.2 Learned counsel Mr. Chanhan has tendered the

Government Resolution dated 07.06.2011, which is taken

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on record. It is submitted that when petitioners have

also remained silent for years and come be lately before

this Court, then in such circumstances, even if this

Court order to refund the amount recovered from

petitioners, no interest be awarded thereon.

5.3 Making the above submissions, learned counsel for

the respondent No.2-University would request this Court

to pass appropriate order in the present writ petition.

5.4 No other and further submissions are made.

6. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT -

STATE:-

6.1 Learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Parth

Patel appearing for the respondent No.3 - State would

submit that as such, the issue germane in the matter

may be covered by the aforesaid decision dated

31.03.2016 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this

Court, whereby petitioners may be entitled to get back

the amount so recovered from them by the respondent

University, but considering the fact that the petitioners

also approached this Court after a period of more than

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three years, they are not entitled to receive any interest

on such amount. It is submitted that such amount

requires to be refunded back to petitioner by respondent-

University.

6.2 Making the above submissions, learned AGP Mr.

Patel would request this Court to dismiss the present

writ petition.

6.3 No other and further submissions are made.

ANALYSIS:-

7. Heard learned counsels for the respective parties at

length and after going through the pleadings and documents which are annexed therewith, it is not in

dispute that the issue germane in the matter is squarely

covered by the decision of the Co-ordinate Bench of this

Court passed on 31.03.2016 in Special Civil Application

No. 1706 of 2010 and allied matters (Coram: Hon'able

Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala, as His Lordship then was),

which was filed by similarly persons in consimili casu,

wherein it has been held thus:

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"10. The Resolution issued by the State Government in its Education Department, dated 12.09.2014 states that there shall be no recovery of the amount paid to the employees by way of "Advance Increment". It further states that the liability of a particular officer responsible for creating the confusion shall be fixed and he be proceeded accordingly.

The Government Resolution also takes care about the qualifications and is made applicable to all the Universities as well as all the Colleges across the State of Gujarat. The short point now which needs to be decided is about those persons who on their own volition deposited the requisite amount apprehending that it would come in their way so far as their retiral benefits were concerned.

11. Mr. D.G. Chauhan, the learned counsel appearing for the University submitted that this Court need not to pass an order directing the University to refund the amount which has already been paid by the respective employees on their own volition.

12. I am of the view and more particularly, having regard to the observations made by the learned Single Judge in Paras14 and 15 referred to above, the amount should be refunded to the respective employees. The mere act on their part to deposit the money on their own volition out of fear and that too, without any fault on their part, should not come on their way so far as the refund of the requisite amount is concerned. A list of all those employees be prepared, who had voluntarily deposited the amount and the same be paid to them within period of two months from

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today.

It is further clarified that those employees, whose promotional avenues have been hampered on account of this litigation, shall now be reconsidered and appropriate decision in that regard be taken in accordance with law at the earliest."

(emphasis supplied)

8. When this Court has already directed the

respondent authority to consider the case of all the

employees, who voluntarily deposited the amount, id est,

advance increment, and the same be paid to them within

a period of two months from the date of the aforesaid

decision; having not paid such amount to the petitioners,

as the case may be, respondents failed to obey the

direction issued by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court.

9. This Court, after carefully going through the

aforesaid judgment and the direction issued therein,

definitely come to the conclusion that the direction issued

in paragraph-12 of the aforesaid decision passed in rem,

whereby it was legal obligation cast upon the

respondents to refund the amount to the concerned

employees. Furthermore, when the State has taken a

conscious decision by way of its Resolution dated

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12.09.2014 issued through its Education Department not

to affect any recovery of amount paid to the respondent

employee, it was more obligatory on the part of the

State to see that affected employees get back the

recovered amount.

10. Having so observed earlier and as such remain

undisputed fact that the respondents have not discharged

their legal obligations as per the direction issued by this

Court in the aforesaid decision, they are not only liable

to refund the amount but as a matter of course requires

to pay it with interest to petitioners.

11. At the same time, this Court is not oblivious of the fact that petitioners also remain silent for quite

long time rather wake from slumber after aforesaid

judgement passed by this Court, thus, approached this

Court only in the year 2019; thereby considering the sui

generis facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view that while refunding the amount to petitioners so

recovered from them, respondent-University is liable to

pay such amount with interest at the rate of 6% per

annum from 01.01.2020 till its realization.

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12. CONCLUSION:-

12.1 In view of the foregoing reasons, the present writ

petition is partly allowed to the aforesaid extent with

the following directions:

12.2 The respondents herein, more particularly, the

respondent-University, is directed to refund the amount

so recovered from the petitioners on or before 28.02.2026

along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from

01.01.2020 till its actual payment.

12.3 If the respondent-University will fail to pay the

aforesaid amount within the stipulated time as aforesaid,

the petitioners will be entitled to receive the interest at

the rate of 9% per annum on the amount of interest accrued from 01.01.2020 till 28.02.2026, till its actual

realization.