ATULKUMAR JAYANTILAL RAWAL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule returnable today. Mr. Patel, learned advocate appears and waives service of rule on behalf of respondent no. 1 and Ms. Panchal, learned advocate waives service of rule on behalf of respondent no. 2.

(2.) Heard the learned advocates for the respective parties. With the consent of the learned advocates, this matter is taken up for final hearing today.

(3.) The brief facts of the present writ petition are that petitioner was working with the respondent-Panchayat as a Work-charge employee. His services came to be terminated with effect from 30th June, 1993. Feeling aggrieved by the said order of termination, the petitioner approached the Labour Court, Junagadh. The said reference No. (LCJ) 1440 of 1990 came to be allowed by the Labour Court, Junagadh vide Award dated 20th November, 1995 whereby the respondent-Panchayat was directed to reinstate the petitioner-Atul Kumar Jayantibhai Rawal to his original post with full backwages within a period of thirty days of the date of publication of the said Award. In pursuance to the Award passed by the Labour Court, Junagadh, an application was submitted by the petitioner to the Executive Engineer on 31st January, 1996 with a request to permit him to resume his duties. In response to the said application, the Executive Engineer vide his communication dated 5th February, 1996 informed the petitioner that legal opinion in the matter is sought for by the Panchayat in respect to challenging the Award in question before the higher forum or not. Thereafter, by another communication dated 21st March, 1996, the petitioner was informed that the said Award is brought under challenge before this Court in Special Civil Application No. 5186 of 1996. The petitioner had also moved this Court by filing an application being Special Civil Application No. 6126 of 1996 for implementing the Award in question. Both these petitions were heard together and disposed of by this Court [Coram : J.N Bhatt, J.] by a common judgment and order dated 13th December, 1996. In the concluding paragraph of the said judgment, this Court has observed that, `in the result, the first petition viz., Special Civil Application No. 5186 of 1996 is partly allowed. The petitioner who is the original opponent, is directed to reinstate the workman [petitioner herein] in service with 40 per cent backwages within a period of thirty days from today failing which workman will be entitled to interest at the rate of 15 per cent on backwages till the date of reinstatement. The second application, Special Civil Application No. 6126 of 1996 is also partly allowed accordingly.' Thereafter, petitioner again approached the Executive Engineer by a letter dated 13th January, 1997 requesting him to allow him to resume duty in pursuance to the order passed by this Court on 13th December, 1996. A similar request was also made by the petitioner on 12th April, 1999.