SURESHKUMAR K JOSHI Vs. GUJARAT AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, in all nine in number, working in the Gujarat Agricultural University, Sardar Krishi Nagar, Dantiwada, District Banaskanlha, have filed this Special Civil Application and prayer has been made for direction to the respondents to grant them the time scale of Rs. 750-900, the pay scale meant for unskilled workmen in the respondent University with further prayer for direction to pay the arrears of fixation.

(2.) This petition has been filed by petitioners in this Court on 15th September, 1993. The petitioners are not the only workmen who are working in the respondent-University on daily wages. Number of other workers are also there who are working on daily wages. After filing of this Special Civil Application, subsequent developments have taken place and the same have been brought on record of this Special Civil Application by the petitioners by filing Civil Application No. 7713 of 1997, which has been decided today.

(3.) The union, namely, All Gujarat Kamdar Karmchari Union (hereinafter referred to as 'Union'), of the employees working in the respondent-University raised industrial disputes for the daily wagers workmen of the respondent-University. The dispute pertains to the claim that their services have regularized and they may be given pay in the time scale on the principles of "equal pay for equal work". The aforesaid disputes raised by the union were referred to the Industrial Tribunal, Ahmedabad, which were registered as Ref. (II) Nos. 206 to 219 of 1992. In those reference, the employee's union filed an application Ex. 5 for grant of interim relief, which came to be partly allowed by the Tribunal under its order dated 13th February, 1995 and the respondent-University was directed to pay an amount of Rs. 500/- p.m. to the employees included in the reference with effect from 1 st September. Against the aforesaid order of the Industrial Tribunal, the University filed Special Civil Application No. 5859 of 1995 before this Court. The said Special Civil Application was dismissed. However, the order of grant of interim relief passed by the Tribunal was slightly modified to the extent of grant of interim relief from prospective date and not from retrospective date. The matter was thereafter taken up by University in Letters Patent Appeal and the same has also been dismissed on 2.12.96. The respondent-University has not felt contended after dismissal of the Letters Patent Appeal and it has taken up the matter before the Hon'ble Supreme Court by filing Special Leave to Appeal No. 3007 of 1997, and that too has been dismissed. The petitioners were not listed employees in reference aforesaid, However, as per the case of petitioners, many of the employees junior to them were listed employees in the above reference and by virtue of interim relief granted by Industrial Tribunal at Ahmedabad, they started getting an amount of Rs. 500/- p.m. as salary. The petitioners herein sent a notice to the respondent- University and prayed for giving them the benefit of interim relief ordered by Industrial Tribunal, Ahmedabad, but the respondent-University has declined to grant that relief. Hence these petitioners filed Civil Application No. 7713 of 1997, as stated earlier, before this Court, and prayer has been made for grant of benefit of interim relief of Rs. 500/- p.m. to them.