STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. MULCHANDBHAI LAVJIBHAI PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Admit. Mr. I.S. Supheia, learned Advocate, waives notice of admission on behalf of the respondents. The sole question, which has emerged for our consideration and adjudication in this Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is, as to whether the requisite period of service in the same Grade / Scale for the purpose of earning benefit of Higher Grade / Scale is to be considered in the same district or the period of service in more than one district in the same cadre in the same scale is to be counted and clubbed in terms of the provisions of para 3 (2) of the Resolution of the Government dated 16-08-1994, to which our unambiguous and explicit answer is that the requisite period to be counted is not only of particular district in the same cadre and scale, but also the period spent in a district on transfer and even at the request of the employee.

(2.) The appellants in this Letters Patent Appeal have assailed the judgment of the learned Single Judge rendered in Special Civil Application No.10469 of 1999 whereby the respondents-original petitioners, who are the employees of the Home Department and working as Police Constables, were granted the benefit of the Scheme of Higher Grade - Scale on completion of the requisite period of service of 9 years despite the fact the said period was not in one district in the same cadre, but in different districts on transfer upon request. Thus, the learned Single Judge has held that in order to earn the entitlement for the benefit of Higher Grade formula pursuant to the Government Resolution dated 16-08-1995, the period spent in more than one district could also be clubbed. Such a request was turned down by the appellants-authorities on the ground that respondents-original petitioners had not completed requisite period of 9 years of service in the same cadre in the same district.

(3.) The original petitioners were working as Police Constables in Sabarkantha District at the relevant time. Their request to the appellant authorities to give them benefit of Higher Grade Scale as they had completed 9 years of service in the same cadre, though not in the same district was rejected. The interpretation made by the Authorities of the said resolution of the Government was challenged in a Writ Petition being Special Civil Application No.10469 of 1999, which came to be decided in favour of the respondents-original petitioners on 12-09-2002 by the learned Single Judge, which is directly under challenge in this Letters Patent Appeal before us.