(Per : HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR.BHASKAR

BHATTACHARYA)

1. By this Special Civil Application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ-petitioners, the Industrial Courts Employees' Association Class-III, Ahmedabad and the Labour Courts Employees' Association Class-III have prayed for issue of writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ upon the respondents to extend the benefit of the revised pay-scale as per the recommendation of the Justice Shetty Pay Commission Report to the employees of the Industrial Courts and Labour Courts in terms of the order dated October 07, 2009 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

2. The case made out by the writ-petitioners may be summarized thus :

2.1 The members of the petitioners-Associations were appointed on various posts like Registrar, Office Superintendent, Clerk of the Court, Sub-Accountant, Clerk, Clerk-cum-Typist and Class-IV employees like Nayak and Peon by the Labour and Employment Department of the State of Gujarat under the direct supervision and control of Labour and Employment Department of the State of Gujarat.

2.2 The Supreme Court of India in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Labour Law Practitioners' Association, reported in AIR 1998 SC 1233 held that persons presiding over Industrial and Labour Courts would constitute judicial service and, therefore, the recruitment of Labour Court Judges was required to be made in accordance with Article 234 of the Constitution of India. Consequently, according to the said order passed by the Supreme Court of India, the Presiding Officers and the employees working under the direct control and supervision of the State of Gujarat had been placed under the direct supervision and control of the High Court of Gujarat.

2.3 General Inspection of the Industrial Courts and Labour Courts is being carried out by the High Court, including the inspection of accounts of the Labour Courts and Industrial Courts. Though the rules for recruitment of staff, their promotions, and disciplinary rules are yet to be finalized by the High Court, the promotion orders in respect to the post of Registrar are being issued by the Legal Department, which clearly demonstrates that the entire staffs of both the abovementioned judicial institutions are under direct control of the High Court. Such being the position, the members of the writ-petitioners are entitled to get revision of pay-scale with effect from April 01, 2003 onwards with all consequential benefits, including corresponding scale and other perquisites and allowances recommended by the Justice Shetty Pay Commission and accepted by the Supreme Court.

2.4 The Union of India, Ministry of Home and Affairs issued a letter dated August 05, 1997 whereby the Labour Courts have been treated to be equivalent to the District Court and the status of the Labour Courts has been accepted in principal in pursuance of the suggestion given by the Union of India.

2.5 The Supreme Court appointed the National Judicial Pay Commission known as Justice Shetty Commission to examine the anomaly in the scale of pay prevailing in the judicial department and their employees throughout the country. After examining various aspects, Justice Shetty Pay Commission in its report in Chapter VII noted that in consultation with various expert institutions in the subject matter and with all High Courts and the State Governments, it recommended to grant higher pay to Courts' Staff, since they form an integral part of judicial system and help to perform the judicial process efficiently and effectively. It was also observed in the said report that the Courts' activities being absolutely labour intensive and service oriented and the specialization which the judicial employees possess, is not appreciated properly and they are compared with the staff of other Government departments. According to the said report, considering the expertise they gain, the stress they undergo, the hiccups they suffer, all are requ