STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. VIJAYKUMAR RAMSWAROOP GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Letters Patent Appeal, the appellants have assailed the judgment and order of the learned Single Judge dated 11.1.2002 in Special Civil Application No. 7366 of 1990, by invocation of Clause 15 of the Letters Patent.

(2.) The respondent, original-petitioner was appointed to the post of Medical Officer, Class-II on ad-hoc basis, however, he continued in the service from 1982 to June 1990, when original-petitioner filed the writ petition for regularisation of his service from the date of appointment with consequential benefits as well as direction to the appellants, original-respondents to consider his case for promotion. Original-petitioner was selected by the Gujarat Public Service Commission for the post of Medical Officer, Class-II in 1991 and he was given temporary appointment to the post of Medical Officer, Class-II on probation for a period of 2 years by an order of the Government of Gujarat. Not only that, original-petitioner was also given promotion to the post of Medical Officer, Class-I for a period of one year with effect from 2nd March 2000. The promotion of the petitioner to the said post was also regularised by an order of the State Government dated 16.9.2000.

(3.) Since the original-petitioner was promoted after regularisation in Class-II Medical Officer's post, his service period in the feeder cadre, like that post of Medical Officer, Class-II was not regularised by the appellant, as a result of which the original-petitioner had to knock the door of justice for his dues and service regularisation. The contention was raised on behalf of the State of Gujarat that though the service period of the petitioner on the post of Medical Officer, Class-I was regularised and he got promotion from the lower cadre, like that the post of Medical Officer, Class-II, the service period in Class-II post was regularised and therefore the seniority list was prepared by the department. Accordingly, after having considered the factual profile and the rival submissions of the parties and the relevant proposition of rule as well as the case law, the learned Single Judge allowed the petition and directed the appellant authority to regularise the services of the petitioner in the post of Medical Officer, Class-II from 17-5-1982, the date on which he joined the service of Medical Officer, Class-II and to give other consequential benefits. The appellants are also directed to regularise the services of the petitioner in the post of Medical Officer, Class-I from 2nd March 2000, the date on which the petitioner was appointed as Medical Officer, Class-I post. In short, the directions are issued in the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge to the appellant authority to regularise the service of the petitioner as permanent employee from March 2000 in the cadre of and on the post of Medical Officer, Class-I and the service period on the post of Medical Officer, Class-II with effect from 17.5.1982. The original-respondent authorities, being aggrieved, have come up before us in this Letters Patent Appeal.