CHAMPAKLAL HARGOVINDDAS SHAH Vs. VALOD NAGAR PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks to challenge the impugned order dated 28/09/1979 at Annexure 'I' to the petition by which the petitioner was serving as Octroi Clerk in Valod Gram Panchayat was ordered to be dismissed on the basis of the enquiry, which was held against him on the charges of misappropriation. In the alternative the petitioner has prayed for a direction on the Gujarat Civil Service Tribunal - the Third respondent to decide the appeal of the petitioner on merits.

(2.) It appears that the impugned order dated 28/09/1979 was earlier challenged before this Court in Special Civil Application No. 3430 of 1979 and this Court holding that because of striking down of the Amendment Act by which the Gujarat Panchayat Acts was sought to be amended, the appeal did lie to the Tribunal and the petitioner was entitled to prefer an appeal to the Tribunal. This Court therefore (N. H. Bhatt, J.) gave a direction dated 13-2-1984 to the petitioner to prefer an appeal before the Tribunal and also gave a direction to the Tribunal to give top priority to the appeal and dispose of in accordance with law.

(3.) It appears that pursuant to the direction given by this Court, an appeal was preferred by the petitioner on 22/02/1984 before the Gujarat Civil Services Tribunal against the decision dated 28/09/1979 of the Village Panchayat, Valod, dismissing him from service. The Tribunal found that first appeal would not lie against the decision of a Village Panchayat before the Tribunal and this fact was not brought to the notice of the High Court. The petitioner had earlier filed an Appeal No. 202 of 1977 against the previous order of dismissal for the same incident and that appeal which was decided by the Tribunal on 20/05/1978 was filed against the order of the Taluka Development Officer, which was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Village Panchayat to proceed afresh from the stage of recording of evidence. Thereafter, the disciplinary proceedings were taken up afresh for the same incident culminating in the Resolution dated 2 8/09/1979, under which the Village Panchayat being the disciplinary authority dismissed the petitioner. It appears that before the Village Panchayat could pass its resolution dated 28/09/1979, the petitioner kept on sending communications to the Tribunal which had remanded the matter and since there was an amendment in the Panchayat Act to the effect that the servants of Village Panchayat and Nagar Panchayat were not "Specified Civil Servants", the Tribunal had generally informed the petitioner in response to his letters that his appeal was already decided by the Tribunal and that in view of the amendment in the Act the Tribunal had no jurisdiction in such matters. It appears that the reply of the Tribunal dated 8-11-1979 torn out of its context was relied upon before this Court earlier. It appears that in any event such first appeal did not lie before the Tribunal against the decision of the Village Panchayat and it could be preferred only before the Taluka Development Officer. Since the Amendment Act was struck down by the Supreme Court, the employees of the Village and Nagar Panchayats continued to be "Specified Civil Servants" in respect of whom the Tribunal had jurisdiction. The Tribunal held that since it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal directly from the order of the Village Panchayat the appeal ought to have been filed before the Taluka Development Officer, who was the immediate Superior authority. It was found that even trough the rules were rot re-amended pursuant to the striking down of the Amendment Act, under the Gujarat Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1971 applicable to Government Servants also the immediate superior authority was the Taluka Development Officer. Therefore, in any event, the appeal could not lie before the Tribunal. The Tribunal, therefore, directed that the Taluka Development Officer should give top priority to the appeal and dispose of in accordance with law, while ordering the appeal to be returned for presentation to proper authority.