Judgment

MADON, J.:- The above application, namely, Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 824 of 1986, has been filed by the Respondent in Criminal Appeal No. 50 of 1985, Mahendra Ambalal Shah, seeking certain directions. The directions sought are that the above Criminal Appeal should be dismissed and the Appellants should be directed to reinstate the Respondent forthwith in service and to issue a non-bailable warrant against the First Appellant and to detain him in jail until the Respondent is reinstated and the amount of back wages is deposited in the High Court and paid to the Respondent. A direction was also sought in the said application to issue a notice of contempt to the trustees of the Khambhat Taluka Sarvajanik Kelavani Mandal. Khambhat. The names of the said trustees were given in Annexure A to the said application. A prayer is also made in the said application to pass such other orders and directions, as may be necessary in the circumstances of the case. By its order dated March 5, 1986, this Court issued a notice of the said application to the said trustees.

2. The facts which have given rise to the said Criminal Appeal. require to be briefly stated. The Respondent Shah was working in the Rajni Parekh Arts, K. B. Commerce and B. C. J. Science College, Khambhat, as a non-academic employee. The said college is owned and run by the said Mandal. The said Shah was suspended on August 9, 1978, without assigning any reason. Under the relevant statutory provisions the order of suspension automatically came to an end on the expiry of six months from its date. On the expiry of this period, Shah approached the University of Gujarat and the University Syndicate directed the said Mandal to take him back into service. The management, however, not only refused to take Shah back but did not pay him the, subsistence allowance prescribed by the rules. Shah thereupon filed a writ petition, being Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 2424 of 1980 in the Gujarat High Court and as per the interim order passed in the said writ petition, the said Mandal paid to Shah the arrears of subsistence allowance and further agreed to pay to him the same until the said writ petition was finally disposed of. By its Resolution dated April 5, 1980, the Syndicate of the University directed the Mandal to take the respondent back in service. The said Mandal, however, refused to obey the said directions and instead on October 8, 1980, started disciplinary proceedings against Shah. According to Shah, he was not given an opportunity to defend himself. On the report submitted by the Inquiry Officer, the said Mandal passed a resolution to terminate the Respondents services. It also approached the Vice-Chancellor of the University for his permission to terminate Shahs services. By an order dated January 22, 1982, the Vice-Chancellor refused to grant sanction to the termination of Shahs services. In spite of the refusal by the Vice-Chancellor to accord his sanction, the said Mandal by its letter dated February 26, 1982, informed Shah that his services were terminated with effect from that date and stopped paying him any subsistence allowance even though by the aforesaid order of the High Court it was to continue to pay the same until the final disposal of the said writ petition Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 2424 of 1982. By his letter dated April 18, 1982, addressed to Ranjitbhai Shastri, the Secretary of the said Mandal, the Vice-Chancellor called upon the said Mandal to take back the Respondent forthwith in service and further intimated to him that if the said directions were not complied with within a week, he would be compelled to make a report to the Executive Council of the University. Neither was any reply sent to the said letter nor was Shah taken back in service. Instead, on April 15, 1982, a complaint was filed before the Magistrate, First Class, Khambhat. under Sections 408, 477A and 467 of the Indian Penal Code, charging Shah with misappropriation o