STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. RAVISHANKAR DAMODAR KAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Shivam Dixit, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the appellant-State, learned advocate Mr. Apurva R. Kapadia for respondent Nos.1.1 to 1.3 and learned advocate Mr. Mitul K. Shelat for the respondent No.2.

(2.) Challenge in this appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is to the oral order dtd. 15/10/2019 by which the learned Single Judge has accepted the petition of the petitioner by which he had prayed for permission to switch over to GPF and Pension Scheme on payment of the amount of CPF received by the petitioner at the time of retirement, as directed by the University.

(3.) The facts and the service details have been recorded by the learned Single Judge. What is evident from the reading of the order under challenge by the learned Single Judge is that, the learned Single Judge while allowing the petition has relied on the judgment passed by the Division Bench in Letters Patent Appeal No.2259 of 2017 and allied appeals. Mr. Shivam Dixit, learned Assistant Government Pleader would assail the oral order of the learned Single Judge on the ground that the learned Single Judge ought to have considered the fact that the petitioner was first appointed prior to 1/4/1982 and therefore, his case would fall under the definition of "member of existing staff", more particularly, Clause-3 of the Resolution dtd. 15/10/1984. In other words, the learned Assistant Government Pleader would contend that it was necessary for the original petitioner to have exercised option and having not done so which was mandatory, the original petitioner-respondent herein was not entitled to the benefit of the pension scheme. Reliance was also placed on a decision in the case of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited v. Dwarka Prasad Koolwal reported in (2015) 12 SCC 51 .