STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. SHAH SAMIR BHARATBHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Additional Advocate General Ms.Manisha Lavkumar assisted by learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr.Siddharth Rami for the appellant State and learned advocate Mr.Namrata Chauhan for the respondent.

(2.) The present appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent preferred by the State is directed against judgment and order dtd. 5/7/2023 read with order upon the Note for Speaking-to-Minutes dtd. 19/7/2023 passed in Special Civil Application thereby the appellant - original respondents came to be directed to grant pay scale and other benefits to the petitioners equivalent to minimum of the pay scale of Assistant Professors appointed on regular basis.

(3.) In the writ petition filed by eighteen petitioners, it was prayed to grant to them the pay and other benefits equivalent to the other regularly appointed Assistant Professors. It was further prayed to direct the respondent authorities not to terminate the services of the petitioners and not to alter their service conditions adverse to them until the sanctioned post of Assistant Professors were duly filled up by the candidate selected by Gujarat Public Service Commission. The petitioners prayed for extending the benefits as per the Circulars dtd. 15/10/1992 and 28/7/1999, as granted to the ad-hoc Assistant Professors. The petitioners wanted to be treated at par with the ad-hoc Professors in respect of the grant of religious holidays, vacation leaves and permission for higher studies etc. 3.1 The petitioners were appointed as Assistant Professors in the different government engineering colleges between the year 2011 to 2015, on contractual basis. Their appointments were for a period of eleven months with defeasance clause, namely until the vacancies are filled up by Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC). The petitioners stated that they had been continued for more than six years as GPSC was not able to make regular appointments. It was stated that they were qualified to be appointed on regular basis as Assistant Professors.