Gujarat High Court

M.P. Mahida vs State Of Gujarat on 8 October, 2025

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                               C/SCA/17066/2011                                           ORDER DATED: 08/10/2025

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                                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                                       R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17066 of 2011
                                                           With
                                       R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17068 of 2011
                                                           With
                                       R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17204 of 2011
                                                           With
                                       R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17205 of 2011
                        ==========================================================
                                                              M.P. MAHIDA
                                                                 Versus
                                                        STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
                        ==========================================================
                        Appearance:
                        MR NK MAJMUDAR(430) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
                        MS FORUM J SHAH, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
                        MR VIJAY H NANGESH(3981) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3
                        ==========================================================

                           CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP N. BHATT

                                                               Date : 08/10/2025

                                                            COMMON ORAL ORDER

1. The issue involved in all these petitions, the facts

involved and the submissions made are common and

therefore, at the request of learned advocates for the parties, these petitions are disposed of by this common order.

Special Civil Application No.17066 of 2011:

2. The prayers prayed for are as under:

"7(A) Be pleased to allow this petition.

(B) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, quashing and setting-aside the communication dated 11.5.2011 made by the respondent No.3 and be pleased to

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issue appropriate writ, order or direction, holding that the petitioner is entitled to get the status of Temporary Employee/Temporary Establishment with retrospective effect as per the G.Rs. Dated 16.8.1973, 25.5.1989 and 25.4.2006 and petitioner is also entitled to get the benefit of higher pay scale accordingly in the aforementioned peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

(C) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to reconsider the case of the petitioner for giving him status of Temporary Employee/Temporary Establishment as well as for extending the benefit of higher pay scale in the aforementioned peculiar facts and circumstances of the case. (D) Pending admission and till final disposal of the petition, be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to reconsider the case of the petitioner for giving him status of Temporary Employee/Temporary Establishment as well as for extending the benefit of higher pay scale till the aforesaid petition is finally heard and decided.

(E) xxxx"

2.1 The facts are such that the petitioner was initially

selected by Staff Selection Committee, State of Gujarat,

Gandhinagar and thereafter allocated to the District

Panchayat, Bharuch by the State Government and he was

given appointment as Supervisor (now re-designated as

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Addl.Assistant Engineer) by the District Panchayat, Bharuch

for scarcity/relief work in Panchayat Road and Building Sub-

Division, Jambusar. The petitioner served as Supervisor from

January, 1973 to June 1973 in Panchayat Road and Building

Sub-Division, Jambusar; thereafter, he was transferred to

Valia and thereafter in August, 1973, scarcity work was over

and therefore, he was declared as surplus and he was

relieved from service; the petitioner made an application

requesting the authorities to continue him as Supervisor in

Panchayat Mechanical Sub-Division, Bharuch, however, his

application was not considered at the relevant point of time

and later on was taken into consideration in January, 1980

and he was given appointment on monthly basis upto August,

1981 and thereafter again from August, 1981, he was again

reappointed upto February, 1982; thereafter, he was again reappointed upto July, 1982 and on 1.8.1982, It is stated

that when the petitioner was given initial appointment as

Supervisor, he was 23 years and 8 months old, he was given

artificial breaks from July, 1973 to July, 1982. He was given

appointment on regular basis as Work-Charge Establishment,

the petitioner continued to serve in Work-charge

Establishment-Work-charge Supervisor (now re-designated as

Addl.Asst.Engineer) till he came to be retired on attaining

the age of superannuation on 31.5.2007.

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2.2 It is stated that the petitioner had become entitled

to get the status of temporary employee, as per the G.Rs.

Dated 16.8.1973, 25.5.1989 and 25.4.2006 and he was given

the status of temporary employee as per the aforesaid G.Rs.;

the petitioner had made representation dated 4.5.2011 to the

respondent authorities requesting them to consider his case

for giving him status of temporary employee with

retrospective effect as per the G.Rs. dated 16.8.1973,

25.5.1989 and 25.4.2006 and to extend the benefit of higher

pay scale accordingly. By communication dated 11.5.2011, the

petitioner was informed by the respondent no.3 that as per

the G.R.dated 29.9.2011, the age of the petitioner at the time

of appointment on Work-charge Establishment was beyond the

age limit prescribed in the Recruitment Rules at the relevant

point of time and he cannot be given status of Temporary Employee/Temporary Establishment; therefore, this petition is

filed.

Special Civil Application No.17068 of 2011:

3. The prayers prayed for are as under:

"7(A) Be pleased to allow this petition.

(B) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to consider the

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case of the petitioners for giving them status of Temporary Establishment with retrospective effect i.e. the date on which they had completed their five years service in Work-Charge Establishment from their initial dated of appointment on Work-charge establishment and for extending the benefit of higher pay scale as well as other consequential benefits flowing therefrom as per the Government Resolutions dated 16.8.1973, 25.5.1989 and 25.4.2006.

(C) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to take appropriate decision upon the representation made by the petitioners dated 6.5.2011 raising their grievances with regard to not giving them status of Temporary Establishment with retrospective effect i.e. on completion of their five years service from their initial dated of appointment of Work-

charge Establishment as well as for not extending the benefit of higher pay scale as per the Government Resolutions dated 16.8.1973, 25.5.1989 and 25.4.2006; (D) Pending admission and till final disposal of the petition, be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to decided the representation made by the petitioner dated 6.5.2011 till the aforesaid petition is finally heard and decided. (E) xxxx (F) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and direct the District Panchayat, Bharuch i.e. respondent Nos.2 and 3 to pass appropriate orders for conferring the status of

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Temporary Employee/Temporary Establishment to the petitioners in view of the principles laid down by the Hon'ble High Court as per the judgment rendered by the High Court dated 21/10/2011 in Special Civil Application No.7564/1996 as well as order passed by the Hon'ble Division Bench dated 17/1/2011 in Letters Patent Appeal No.1360 of 2011 and other allied matters and direct the concerned authorities to grant consequential benefits difference of salary, higher pay scale to the petitioners and difference of salary may be ordered to be paid with 12% interest to the petitioner."

3.1 The facts are such that the petitioner no.1 was

initially appointed as Work-Charge Tracer and he was

initially given appointment for 29 days; he resumed his duty

on 26.5.1981; thereafter, artificial breaks came to be given and again he came to be reappointed in Work-Charge

Establishment as Work-Charge Tracer and he had continued

to serve as Work-charge Tracer from 26.5.1981 to 28.9.1984;

he was reappointed as Work-Charge Mistry and he had

continued to work as such for the period from 3.9.1984 to

2.9.1994; thereafter, the post of Work-charge Mistry was

converted into Work-charge Assistant on the regular Work-

Charge Work Assistant post w.e.f. 3.9.1994 and therefore the

petitioner no.1 was given appointed as Work-Charge Work

Assistant since 3.9.1994.

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3.2 So far as petitioner no.2 is concerned, he was

appointed as Work-charge Mistry on 13.2.1980 and he had

continued to serve as Work-charge Mistry without there being

any artificial break and after conversion of the post from

Work-Charge Mistry to Work-Charge Assistant, he has been

serving as Work-Charge Work-Assistant since October, 1990.

3.3 On Government Resolutions being passed issuing

guidelines for conversion of Work-charge Establishment to

Temporary Establishment and for extension of certain benefits

namely higher pay scale etc., the petitioners became entitled

to get the status of Temporary Establishment on completion

of their five years service, however, they were not given the

status of Temporary Establishment and therefore they preferred Special Civil Application No.1004 of 2010 seeking

directions for giving them the status of Temporary

Establishment and extending the benefits of higher pay scale

as well as consequential benefits before this Court, which

was disposed as as withdrawn vide order dated 22.3.2010

permitting the petitioners to make representation; ultimately,

the petitioners made representation dated 6.5.2011, however,

the same was decided till the date of the filing of the

petition and therefore the petition is filed.

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Special Civil Application No.17204 of 2011:

4. The prayers prayed for are as under:

"7(A) admit this petition.

(B) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to quash and set aside the illegal, arbitrary action of the respondent authorities of not conferring the Status of Temporary Mistry to the petitioner despite the petitioner became eligible and entitled to get appointment as Temporary Mistry w.e.f. 11/2/1985 as the petitioner had completed 5 years of service in Workcharge Establishment and therefore, had become eligible to get the aforesaid status as per G.R. dated 16/8/1973 and further, all the consequential benefits may be ordered to be paid to the petitioner;

(C) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to rectify their mistake and the respondent authorities be directed to pass appropriate order treating the petitioner as deemed to have been appointed/promoted as Overseer in Regular Establishment w.e.f. 1/4/1989 and the Hon'ble Court may kindly issue further directions upon the respondent authorities to rectify the basic error cropped-up in passing the order dated 30/03/1989 and the respondents be directed to grant further consequential benefits to the petitioner treating the petitioner as Overseer w.e.f.1/4/1989 and all the

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consequential benefits including higher pay scale be ordered to be disbursed/granted to the petitioner; (D) issue approached writ, order or direction and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to consider and decide the representations made by the petitioner dated 19/08/2009 and 6/5/2011 and to grant all the consequential benefits to the petitioner floating from the post of Overseer w.e.f.1/4/1989;

(E) grant interim order and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to pass appropriate order on representations preferred by the petitioner dt.19/08/2009 and 6/5/2011;

(F) xxx"

4.1 The facts are such that the petitioner was

appointed as Workcharge Mistry on regular Workcharge Establishment on 4.2.1980 and he resumed his duty on

11.2.1980; the petitioner came to be promoted from

Workcharge Mistry to Workcharge Supervisor on 30.3.1989;

the petitioner resumed his duty as Workcharge Supervisor on

1.4.1989;

4.2 On Government Resolutions being passed issuing

guidelines for conversion of Work-charge Establishment to

Temporary Establishment and for extension of certain benefits

namely higher pay scale etc., the petitioner became entitled

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to get the status of Temporary Establishment on completion

of his five years service, however, he was not given the

status of Temporary Establishment and he preferred Special

Civil Application No.1004 of 2010, along with other employees

who made representations, seeking directions for giving them

the status of Temporary Establishment and extending the

benefits of higher pay scale as well as consequential benefits

before this Court, which was disposed as as withdrawn vide

order dated 22.3.2010 permitting the petitioners to make

representation; ultimately, the petitioners made representation

dated 6.5.2011, however, the same was decided till the date

of the filing of the petition and therefore the petition is filed.

Special Civil Application No.17205 of 2011:

5. The prayers prayed for are as under:

"7(A) admit this petition.

(B) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to quash and set aside the illegal, illogical, discriminatory, arbitrary action of the District Panchayat Authorities -

Respondent no.3 & 4 for keeping the petitioner as Workcharge Supervisor for more than 22 years as the same would amount to exploitation of the petitioner and the same would be violative of various Rules, Regulations issued by the Government Authorities;

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(C) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to rectify their mistake and the respondent authorities be directed to pass appropriate order treating the petitioner as deemed to have been appointed/promoted as Overseer in Regular Establishment w.e.f. 9/1/1989 and the Hon'ble Court may kindly issue further directions upon the respondent authorities to rectify the basic error cropped-up in passing the order dated 29/12/1988 and the respondents be directed to grant further consequential benefits to the petitioner treating the petitioner as Overseer w.e.f. 9/1/1989 and all the consequential benefits including higher pay scale be ordered to be disbursed/granted to the petitioner; (D) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to pass appropriate order for including the name of the petitioner in Seniority List prescribed for the post of Overseer and the respondent authorities be directed to treat the petitioner as deemed to have been promoted as Overseer w.e.f. 9/1/1989 and to include the name of the petitioner in Seniority List accordingly treating the date of appointment/promotion as that of 9/1/1989;

(E) issue appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to consider and decide the representations made by the petitioner dated 22/6/2011 and 1/11/2011 and to grant all the consequential benefits to the petitioner floating from the post of Overseer w.e.f.

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9/1/1989.

(F) grant interim order and be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to pass appropriate order on representations preferred by the petitioner dt. 22/6/2011 and 1/11/2011;

(G) xxxx"

5.1 The facts are such that the petitioner was

appointed as Workcharge Karkum (Clerk) for three months;

the petitioner resumed his duties on 2.3.1979; on 1.6.1979, he

was removed from services on completion of three months; on

3.6.1979, he was allowed to resume duty on oral instruction

without any appointment order as workcharge Mistry; on

29.6.1979, he was given appointment order reappionting him

on 2.6.1979; on 2.9.1979, he was allowed to resume duty as

workcharge Mistry; on 19.9.1979, he was given appointment order reappointing him on 3.9.1979; on 29.11.1979, he was

given appointment order for further three months giving a

day break on completion of previous appointment; on

3.12.1979, the petitioner was removed from services on

completion of said period of three months; the petitioner

resumed duties on 5.12.1979; on 4.2.1980, he was given

appointment order without giving a day break to previous

appointment. The petitioner came to be promoted from

Mistri to W.C.Supervisor on 29.12.1988; the petitioner

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resumed his duties on 9.1.1989;

5.2 On Government Resolutions being passed issuing

guidelines for conversion of Work-charge Establishment to

Temporary Establishment and for extension of certain benefits

namely higher pay scale etc., the petitioner became entitled

to get the status of Temporary Establishment on completion

of his five years service. The basic error cropped-up when the

petitioner came to be promoted as Workcharge Supervisor by

order dated 29.12.1988. He was very much eligible for the

promotion to the post of Overseer, but he was given the

same and therefore, he made a representation dated

22.6.2011 which was not replied and thereafter again on

1.11.2011, he made representation which has not been

considered so far and therefore the petition is filed. It is stated that if the petitioner had been promoted as Overseer,

he would have received all the benefits including the benefit

of higher pay scale and even he would have been considered

for further promotion to higher post of Deputy Executive

Engineer.

6. Heard learned advocates for the parties.

7. Learned advocate Mr.Gehlot for the petitioner has

submitted that the petitioner of Special Civil Application

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No.17066 of 2011 had put in 24 years and 9 months of

service and was superannuated on 31.5.2007, the petitioner

no.1 of Special Civil Application No.17068 of 2011 had put in

more than 26 years of service and was in service as on the

date of the petition, the petitioner no.2 of Special Civil

Application No.17068 of 2011 had put in more than 31 years

of service and was in service as on the date of the petition,

the petitioner of Special Civil Application No.17204 of 2011

had put in more than 31 years of service; the petitioner of

Special Civil Application No.17205 of 2011 had put in more

than 22 years of service. He submitted that similar issue and

prayers prayed for in these petitions are decided by the

Division Bench of this Court in the case of State of Gujarat

V/s Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha reported in 2018 (0) AIJEL-HC 239200. and therefore, in view of the same, these petitions are also required to be allowed.

8. Per contra, learned AGP for the respondents,

though, has opposed these petitions, could not controvert the

submission that issue has been decided by the judgment

referred to by learned advocate for the petitioners.

9. In the judgment in the case of Gujarat Mazdoor

Sabha (supra), the Division Bench has modified the order of the learned Single Judge passed in the petitions against

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which the Letters Patent Appeals were filed and ultimately

passed the final order in paragraph 21.1. as under:

"[21.1] So far as the impugned direction/s in respect of workcharged employees namely all those workcharged employees to be absorbed / converted to temporary establishment on their completion of 5 years' service and they shall be paid the consequential benefits accordingly is hereby quashed and set aside and is modified to the extent and it is held that all those petitioners - workcharged employees who have worked for more than 20 years as workcharged employees shall be entitled to conversion to temporary establishment as per the G.R. dated 16.08.1973 from the date on which they complete 20 years of service as workcharged and they shall be entitled to all the benefits which may be available to the employees working in the temporary establishment, including the benefit of higher pay scale / grade if at all the same is being paid to the employees working in the temporary establishment, however they shall be paid the arrears on such conversion to temporary establishment for the period preceding 3 years of filing of the respective petitions. The arrears shall be calculated and paid within a period of 4 months from today, failing which it shall carry interest at the rate of 9% per annum. It is also directed that in case any of the work charged employee has retired, he shall be paid the retirement benefits as if he was converted to temporary

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establishment provided such employee has worked for not less than 20 years as workcharged employee and retirement benefits be calculated and paid accordingly, however they shall be paid the arrears for 3 years only. Such exercise also shall be completed within period of four months from today. Present appeals are partly allowed to the aforesaid extent. In the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs."

10. In view of the above, without entering and dealing

with the issue in detail, as the petitioners have put in more

than 20 years of service, as stated, these petitions are

required to be disposed of in view of the above judgment.

11. Accordingly, these petitions are allowed. The

petitioners are entitled to conversion to temporary establishment as per the G.R. dated 16.8.1973 from the date

on which they complete 20 years of service as workcharged

and they shall be entitled to all the benefits which may be

available to the employees working in the temporary

establishment, including the benefit of higher pay scale/grade

if at all the same is being paid to the employees working in

the temporary establishment, however they shall be paid the