JUDGMENT :

1. This Court vide judgment order dated 02.02.2022 rendered in Special Civil Application No.6973 of 2020 has considered the issue in context of the prayer made in the petition, wherein, the petitioner has prayed for a higher pay scale of Rs.2000-3500/- in stead of Rs.1640-2900/- from the date of completing nine years of service from her initial date of appointment.

2. The relevant paragraphs of the order passed in Special Civil Application No.6973 of 2019 read as under:

"7. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsels for the respective parties and considering the dates of appointment on which the petitioners were appointed as Mukhya Sevikas which is evident from the schedule that the learned AGP has referred to in the affidavit-in-reply at Annexure R1, what clearly emerges is that the petitioners are appointed initially in the year 1982. A few of the petitioners were appointed in the year 1983, albeit, that would not make any difference for the reasons of this judgement. Admittedly, therefore, the petitioners had completed 9 years of service prior to the date when the rules for examinations were notified, namely Rule 8 of The Child Development Project officer (Female), Gujarat Public Health Service Class-II Recruitment Rules. These rules were notified on 14.01.1993 and admittedly the petitioners had completed 9 years of service in the year 1991 or 1992 as the case may be.

7.1 Keeping this in mind, it is relevant that the decision first in point of time rendered by this court in Special Civil Application No. 8181 of 1998 needs to be referred to. The prayer of the petitioners therein was that they are entitled to higher pay scale of Rs.2000-3500. Considering the case of the petitioners, the court held that there was sufficient merit in the stand of the petitioners and the court opined that from the rules which have been brought into force from 14.01.1993, the petitioners are entitled to the first higher pay scale in the scale of Rs.2000-3500. The relevant portion of the decision dated 06.08.1999 is reproduced hereunder:

"I find sufficient merits in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners and which is not strongly opposed by the counsel for the respondents that the Child Development Project (Female) in the Gujarat Public Health Service Examination Rules, 1993 have come into force after the date on which the petitioners have already completed 9 years in the feeder cadre and the respondents could not have insisted for passing of the examination by them to make themselves eligible for the benefits of the higher pay scale. From the Rules, aforesaid I find that they have brought into force from the date of their publication in the official gazette. The notification of those Rules is dated 14/1/1993 and in all the eventuality their publication in the official gazette could not have been earlier to 14/1/1993."

7.2 That order of the learned Single Judge was not interfered with in Letters Patent Appeal No. 663 of 2000 and the appeals were dismissed by order dated 28.01.2020.

8. Following the aforesaid view this court once again in a group of petitions led by Special Civil Application No. 324 of 2010 by an oral judgment dated 18.02.2010 held as under:

"2. Present petitions are filed by Child Development Project (Female) officers. Petitioners of Special Civil Applications No.487 of 2010 and 489 of 2010 have retired from service on 31.10.2009 and 31.3.2009 respectively.

All the petitioners were appointed as Mukhya Sevikas between the year 1976 to 1982. It is an admitted position that the petitioners have to clear the departmental examination for becoming eligible for the higher grade scale.

3. Initially, by various orders, all the petitioners were granted first higher grade scale after completion of 9 years of service from the date of appointment under the Resolution dated 16.8.1994. The State Government thereafter passed the Resolution dated 25.7.2002 stating that Mukhya Sevikas like the petitioners shall be