KUSUMBEN CHHAGANLAL PATEL Vs. TALUKA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner being aggrieved by the order made by the District Development Officer, District Panchayat, Valsad on 1.7.85 has preferred this petition invoking writ jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Short facts that emerge from the contentions raised in the petition are as under.

(2.) The petitioner was appointed as work-charge clerk by an order dated 7.8.80 vide Annexure : A. Reading the order, it is very clear that the appointment was purely temporary and was liable to be terminated at anytime. Annexure : A, the order of appointment is made by the Taluka Development Officer, Pardi. It is contended by the petitioner that after the period of 4 and a half years, the Taluka Development Officer, by his order dated 30th April, 1985 passed an order at annexure : B whereby the services of the petitioner were terminated on the ground that the Taluka Panchayat Officer was not authorized to appoint Work-charge employees. The petitioner has contended that even though the initial appointment was without jurisdiction, the services could not have been terminated in this fashion. It appears that the petitioner approached the appellate authority against the order of dismissal. The appellate authority appears to have considered the provisions contained in rules known as Gujarat Panchayat Service (Qualification & Recruitment) Rules, 1967 (hereinafter to be referred to as "the Rules"), made in exercise of powers conferred by section 323 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961 (hereinafter to be referred to as "the Act"). The appellate authority has relied on sections 122 and 123 of the Act. Section 123 is required to be perused and the relevant part of section 123 is as under.

(3.) Rules provide two types of services namely ; (i) superior panchayat service and (ii) inferior panchayat service. Vide Rule 3 of the Rules, there is a schedule of classification which is annexed to Rules and one will have to refer to this schedule to find out whether the petitioner was in inferior panchayat service or in superior panchayat service. Rule 9 provides procedure to be followed with regard to appointment to the post in panchayat service. Section 9 (1) and (2) reads as under :-