Daily rated employees cannot be treated as permanent employees solely based on the benefits of a government resolution. The term 'permanent daily-wager' has no legal basis.

JUDGMENT :

BIREN VAISHNAV, J.

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Mr. Kurven Desai, learned Assistant Government Pleader waives service of notice of rule on behalf of the State-respondents.

2. The prayers made in this petition are to direct the respondents to pay death-cum-retirement benefits such as family pension, gratuity, leave encashment etc. as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 by counting total length of service of the deceased from initial date of appointment i.e. 09.01.1987 till the last date of service of the deceased employee to the petitioner with all consequential benefits including arrears.

2.1 As far as this prayer is concerned, it is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner’s husband was working as a daily wager from 09.01.1987 and passed away on 19.05.2001. Having earned the benefits of the Resolution dated 17.10.1988 after completion of five and ten years respectively on 09.01.1992 and 09.01.1997, he was entitled to the benefits of pension from counting his service from the initial date of appointment and consequential benefits accordingly to the petitioner.

3. In light of the decision rendered in Special Civil Application No. 14304 of 2019, wherein, the decision rendered in Special Civil Application No. 14300 of 2019 in the case of Executive Engineer (R&B) Department vs. Samudabhai Jyotibhai Bhedi, 2017 (4) GLR 2952, is considered. As far as the prayer in terms of paragraph16(A) is concerned, the petition is allowed in light of the order dated 09.02.2022 rendered in Special Civil Application No. 14304 of 2019. The respondents are directed to consider the date of initial date of appointment of 09.01.1987 as the initial date of appointment in case of the deceased husband and re-compute the pension counting that date for the purposes of pension. In other words, while computing pensionary benefits, the initial date of appointment shall be taken for the purposes of qualifying services. Pensionary benefits be recomputed accordingly. Pension be revised accordingly and the arrears accruing be paid to the petitioner including the entitlement of revision of family pension based on this within a period of ten weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.

4. As far as prayer 16(B) is concerned, in light of the decision rendered in Special Civil Application No. 5257 of 2021 in the case of Solanki Kapilaben Ramsang vs. State of Gujarat, wherein, this Court has held as under:

“6. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsels appearing for the respective parties, the Court, therefore, will have to consider whether the decision of this Court in the case of Nathabhai Ghemarbhai Parmar vs. State of Gujarat and Another, rendered in Special Civil Application No. 1795 of 2013 dated 07.10.2016, should apply to the facts of the case or that of the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court rendred in Special Civil Application No. 12270 of 2013 dated 30.08.2016.

6.1 It will be in the fitness of things to appreciate the decision of the Co-ordinate Bench dated 30.08.2016 in the case of Javeed A. Surangi vs. State of Gujarat and Another, relevant paras of which reads as under:

“5. Thus the entire premise on which the dispute is rested, is as to whether the father of the petitioner whose status was as per admitted position, was that of a Rojamdar employee, could be treated as a permanent employee for the purpose of applying the scheme for compassionate appointment in Resolution dated 10th March, 2000, on the footing that he was liable to be treated as one entitled to get the benefits of a regular employee under the State Government Resolution dated 17th October, 1988. The respondents have produced Resolution dated 18th July, 1994 of the Road and Building Department, which deals with the aspect of implementation of Dolatbhai Parmar Committee recommendations of which the Resolution dated 17th October, 1988 is a product. In the Resolution dated 17th October, 1988, which is in Gujarati, the word used is “to be treated