Judgment

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:- The State of Gujarat and the Development Commissioner of the State of Gujarat have filed Civil Appeal No. 359 of 1978 under Article 136 of the Constitution against the Judgment dated January 28, 1977 passed in Special Civil Application No. 309 of 1975 on the Me of the High Court of Gujarat. The respondents Nos. 1 to 5 in the above appeal were the petitioners in the aforesaid Special Civil Application. They had filed the said application with the leave of the High Court in a representative capacity for and on behalf of themselves and other officers and servants who were originally in the employment of several municipalities which had been constituted under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901 (hereinafter referred to as the Municipal Act) and who were working as the employees under gram panchayats or nagar panchayats which were established in the place of the municipalities referred to above under the provisions of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961 (Gujarat Act No. VI of 1962) (hereinafter referred to as the Panchayats Act) under Article 226 of the Constitution requesting the High Court to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to the State of Gu