Bhikhabhai Malabhai Babaria vs State Of Gujarat

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Guj) 890

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
MAULIK J.SHELAT, J.
Bhikhabhai Malabhai Babaria - Appellant
Versus
State Of Gujarat & Ors. - Respondent
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1648 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1648 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BREACH OF ORDER) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1648 of 2020 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5355 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5355 of 2019 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 21301 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 21301 of 2019 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BREACH OF ORDER) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 21301 of 2019 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13102 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13102 of 2020 With CIVIL APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 13102 of 2020 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2681 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2681 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 2681 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3142 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3142 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3142 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3297 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3297 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BREACH OF ORDER) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3297 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5298 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5298 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5298 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5304 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5304 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BREACH OF ORDER) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5304 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5330 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5330 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5330 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12314 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12314 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12314 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BRINGING HEIRS) NO. 2 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12314 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONDONATION OF DELAY) NO. 3 of 2025 In CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR BRINGING HEIRS) NO. 2 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 12314 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18223 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18223 of 2021 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18223 of 2021 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5593 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5593 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5593 of 2022 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26385 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26385 of 2022 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26626 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26626 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26626 of 2022 With SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26674 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR JOINING PARTY) NO. 1 of 2024 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26674 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR DIRECTION) NO. 1 of 2025 In SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 26674 of 2022
Decided On : 30-04-2026

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mrs Krishna G Rawal(1315)
For the Respondent: Ms Forum Sukhadwala, AGP, Mr Tushar L Sheth(3920)

JUDGMENT :

MAULIK J.SHELAT, J.

1. Since this batch of petitions claims similar reliefs and raises a common question of law, at the request of the learned advocates for the respective parties, they were heard together and are being decided by way of this common judgment.

SHORT FACTS:

2. Since the facts are identical in all these petitions, to appreciate the contentions raised by the respective learned advocates, the facts of the lead case, being Special Civil Application No. 1648 of 2020, are considered as follows.

2.1 The petitioner was serving as a Labourer in Una Gram Panchayat which was converted into Una Nagarpalika in the year 1986, the respondent No. 2 herein (herein after referred as “the Municipality”). The entire staff of the Panchayat was continued with the Municipality after its conversion without any break of service.

2.2 The petitioners herein along with others raised a reference before the Industrial Tribunal seeking the relief of permanency in the establishment of the Municipality. After hearing the parties, the Industrial Tribunal vide its award dated 20-02-1997, allowed the reference and made the workmen of the Municipality permanent with effect from 01-01-1989. The aforesaid award was confirmed by the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench of this Court. Accordingly, the necessary order came to be passed by the Municipality appointing them as permanent in the establishment. The record suggests that General Provident Fund contribution came to be deducted from the salary of the petitioners-workmen by the Municipality.

2.3 The Respondent No.1-State of Gujarat vide its resolution dated 28-11-1994 issued by the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department has accepted its liability to pay pension to the employees of the Panchayat recruited after 01-04-1963 but prior to its conversion into a Municipality by extending the benefit of its resolution dated 29-09-1992 issued by the Panchayat Department. As per Clause-16 of the said Resolution, any employee recruited subsequent to the conversion of the Panchayat into a Municipality, the benefit of pension will not be extended to them. Clause 17 of the said resolution would also indicate that such a converted Municipality is required to deposit pension contribution (in lieu of CPF) of such employees with the State Government so long as they serve the Municipality.

2.4 The petitioners, having served the Municipality for about 39 years and or completed qualifying service, as the case may be, to receive pension, were not paid any pension and other retirement benefits at the time of their retirement; thus, they have approached this Court by way of these petitions.

3. It has been pointed out to this Court that in the case of other similarly situated employees like the petitioners herein, the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench of this Court vide their different judgments at regular intervals allowed their claims by directing the respondents-authorities to pay pension and other benefits and such decisions were also confirmed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

SUBMISSIONS OF THE PETITIONERS :

4. Mrs.Krishna Raval, learned advocate for the petitioners, has made the following submissions:

4.1 The petitioners were permanent employees of the converted Municipality, thereby entitled to receive pension from the State.

4.2 It is not in dispute that the cases of the petitioners herein are similar to other employees who had been denied the pension by the respondent and upon approaching this Court, the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench of this Court have accepted their prayers by directing the respondent to pay pension and other benefits.

4.3 The Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Una Nagar Palika vs. Kaliben Balubhai Makwana - (2019) 12 SCC 340, after appreciating all the contentions of the respondents, confirmed the judgment passed by the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench of this Court. The similar benefit is required to be granted in favour of the petitioners.

Click Here to Read the rest of this document