B L TRIVEDI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Applicant - Appellant Shri B.L.Trivedi, original respondent No.1 in a writ petition, filed by the petitioner - State of Gujarat, present respondent No.1, has challenged, in above LPA No.1829 of 2004, the Judgment and order dated 27.8.2004, passed by Ms.R.M. Doshit,J., in Special Civil Application No.1852 of 2004, whereby Her Lordship allowed the writ petition filed by the State of Gujarat and quashed and set aside the impugned Judgment and order dated 16.6.2003, passed by the Gujarat Civil Service Tribunal (for short "the Tribunal") in Appeal No.19 of 1997, filed by the present Applicant - Appellant, only on the ground that the learned Tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the Appeal.

(2.) The said LPA is admitted by the Division Bench consisting of A.R.Dave & K.A.Puj, JJ. on 26.10.2004 and this Civil Application was admitted by the same Bench on 26.10.2004 by issuing Rule on it, making it returnable on 26.11.2004 and by way of Ad.interim relief it was directed that operation and implementation of the Judgment, delivered by the learned Single Judge, shall be stayed so far as the observation with regard to jurisdiction of the Tribunal is concerned. Accordingly, the matter was placed on 26.11.2004 before this Court and at the request of learned Counsel for the parties it was adjourned till today i.e. on 7.12.2004 and the Ad.interim relief, granted earlier, was ordered to continue till today.

(3.) Today, this Application for final disposal for confirmation of Ad.interim relief was heard. Learned Counsel Shri S.K. Jhaveri for the applicant - original appellant submitted that once the co-ordinate Bench of this Court found strong prima facie case in his favour and admitted his Appeal then the Ad.interim relief, in above Civil Application, granted earlier by another Bench, be confirmed. It is true that the previous Bench has admitted the Appeal, filed by the applicant appellant on 26.10.2004, and also admitted the present Application by issuing Rule on it with an Ad.interim relief, as stated hereinabove, granted in favour of the applicant. However, we were of the clear opinion that for confirmation of Ad.interim relief this court has also to apply its mind irrespective of the fact as to whether main Appeal is admitted by the other Bench or not. Therefore, before confirming the Ad.interim relief, granted in favour of the applicant appellant, we have carefully gone through the Judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge allowing the writ petition filed by the State of Gujarat, respondent No.1 herein. Having carefully gone through the same, we find that the learned single Judge allowed the writ petition, filed by the present respondent No.1 - State of Gujarat, only on the ground of jurisdiction as Her Lordship was of the considered opinion that the learned Tribunal who entertained and allowed the Appeal, filed by the present Applicant, had no jurisdiction to entertain his Appeal in respect of grant of higher pay scale, as only in the 13 subjects enumerated in the Schedule to the Gujarat Civil Service Tribunal Act, 1972, appeal would lie to the Tribunal. This contention raised by the learned AGP for the present respondent No.1 - original petitioner State of Gujarat was accepted by the learned Single Judge as the learned counsel Shri Supehia, who had appeared in a writ petition before the learned Single Judge for the respondent No.1 present applicant, also conceded that the subject of grant of higher pay scale was not covered by the said Schedule to the aforesaid Act.