KHIMJIBHAI DEVJIBHAI VARAN Vs. CHIEF SECRETARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Instead of hearing the Civil Applications, the two main matters itself are taken up for final disposal.

(2.) The writapplicants before me were appointed as the Principals of the Balmandir, run and managed by the Okha Gram Panchayat and Dhrol Gram Panchayat respectively. In their respective writapplications, they have prayed that after their retirement from the service, they have not been given the benefits of pension and gratuity. According to them, they are entitled to receive the pension and gratuity.

(3.) It appears that a learned Single Judge of this Court took the view that an employee of the Panchayat and more particularly, if he could not be said to be a member of the Panchayat Service within the meaning of Section203 of the Gujarat Panchayat Act, then such an employee is not entitled to receive the pension and gratuity. The correctness of the view expressed by the learned Single Judge of this Court was tested by a Division Bench of this Court in the case of Chorvad Gram Panchayat and Others Vs. Ramniklal Dahrshi Shah and Others, Letters Patent Appeal No.1381 of 2004 and allied appeals. The Division Bench of this Court vide judgment and order dated 02/07/2009 affirmed the view of the learned Single Judge and dismissed the Letters Patent Appeals. While dismissing the Letters Patent Appeals, the Division Bench observed in Para19 as under: