JUDGMENT :

J.B. Pardiwala, J.

Since the issues raised in all the captioned writ applications are more or less the same, those were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

2. For the sake of convenience, the Special Civil Application No. 1595 of 2015 is treated as the lead matter. By this writ application, the applicants, serving as the part-time employees with the Banaskantha District Panchayat, Palanpur, have prayed for the following reliefs:

"8 (A) Be pleased to admit and allow this petition.

(B) Be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ by directing or commanding the respondents to pay the wages to the present petitioners in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act and as per Government Notification dated 21.02.2014 which is annexed as "Annexure-B".

(C) Be pleased to declare the action on part of respondent no. 5 and 6 in not complying with the Minimum Wages Act and Government Notification dated 21.02.2014 is illegal and arbitrary and against the constitutional mandate.

(D) Be pleased to declare the inaction on the part of the Government authorities in not ensuring that the minimum wages are paid to the present petitioner by respondent no. 5 and 6 as illegal, discriminatory, arbitrary, and is thus, violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 16, 21 and 23 of Constitution of India.

(E) Be pleased to issue a writ of certiorari to quash and set aside the practise of respondent no. 1 and 2 of outsourcing the petitioner's work to respondent no. 5 and 6 and wiping out the past service of the petitioners.

(F) Be pleased to direct the respondent no. 1 and 2 to take back the petitioners on the establishment of the State as the present petitioners were working with the State Government since 1977 to 2004 onwards.

(G) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to restrain the respondents from terminating the service of present petitioners and from changing service conditions of the present petitioners.

(H) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to direct the concerned respondent to ensure that the minimum wages to be paid to the present petitioners.

(I) Be please to directed respondents for not changing the working hours as on date they are working more than 6 hours a day.

(J) Be please to award the cost of this petition.

(K) Be pleased to pass any other further order as may be deem fit, just and proper facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice."

3. The District Panchayat decided that the services be procured through the outsourcing agency on contractual basis. In such circumstances, the applicants herein, although render their services to the Panchayat, yet are under the direct supervision and control of the contractor. The contractor exploits the employees so far as their wages is concerned. It is the case of the applicants that the stance of the Panchayat that there is no employee/employer relationship between the applicants and the Panchayat is unreasonable, and thereby, the Panchayat is indirectly permitting the contractor to exploit the situation and pay the wages less than the minimum prescribed under the law.

4. Mr. Munshaw, the learned advocate appearing for the Panchayat, has placed reliance on the following averments made in the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of the respondent No. 3.

"3. The respndt. no. 3 submits that the petitioners were provided work purely on temporary, adhoc and part time basis for the miscellaneous work in Primary Health Centre or in the offices under Banaskantha District Panchayat. It is submitted that none of the petitioners was appointed on any permanent and sanctioned post after following due procedure of recruitment in accordance with the rules and regulations for the posts like Peon or Sweeper etc. The respnt. no. 3 submits that