NAGJIBHAI BHIMJIBHAI Vs. PRESIDENT GARIADHAR NAGAR PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these Special Civil Application have arisen from the same facts and grounds of challenge to the action of the respondents and I consider it to be appropriate to decide all these Special Civil Application by this common order.

(2.) Except in Special Civil Application No. 2134 of 1988, in all other Special Civil Applications, the reply has been filed. Special Civil Application No. 2134 of 1988 :

(3.) There are two petitioners in this Special Civil Application. The petitioner No. 1 was appointed as a Driver on 5-4-1956 in Gariadhar District Municipality, then under the State of Saurashtra. The petitioner No. 2 was appointed as a Sweeper on 1-11-1950 in the same Municipality. The appointments of both the petitioners were made under the provisions of the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901. Thereafter, on 1-4-1963, the Gariadhar District Municipality became Gariadhar Gram Panchayat under the provisions of S.307 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961. Both the petitioners retired from the service on 30th June, 1976 and 30th June, 1975 respectively. The day on which both the petitioners retired, there was no rule providing for retirement age. The employees went out of service if they died and in other cases, when an employee's health did not permit him to carry out his duties, he resigned or sought voluntary retirement. It is a case of the petitioners that as they advanced in age they were unable to fulfil their duties, hence, they retired voluntarily from the services on the aforesaid dates. They were not given any pension at that time because there was no such scheme or law or rule applicable to them. However, they were the members of the Contributory Provident Fund scheme which they availed of.