Gujarat High Court
Kiritkumar Jethalal Pandya vs The State Of Gujarat on 15 July, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/8685/2019 ORDER DATED: 15/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8685 of 2019
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KIRITKUMAR JETHALAL PANDYA
Versus
THE STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR VIREN G DAVE(2599) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MS BHATI for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
NOTICE SERVED BY DS for the Respondent(s) No. 3
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP N. BHATT
Date : 15/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Pursuant to the earlier order passed by this Court dated 08.07.2025, the officers are present in Court today. The learned AGP Ms. Bhati, has tendered an affidavit and assured the Court that the officers will take the necessary action once the relevant calculations are provided.
2. Learned Advocate Mr. Dave submitted that the petitioner's name was not included in the State Government's circular dated 05/07/2018, which listed Page 1 of 4 Uploaded by MS.PARUL DUTTA(HCD0073) on Sat Jul 19 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:26:41 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8685/2019 ORDER DATED: 15/07/2025 undefined other similarly situated persons. The Court has taken note of the petitioner's protracted legal battle, which began with a Civil Suit in 1986, followed by a First Appeal in 1990 and a Second Appeal in 1993. The Second Appeal was decided by this Hon'ble Court in 2011, and the petitioner subsequently retired in 2018.
3. Although the petitioner is entitled to all benefits as directed by the judgment and decree of the Civil Court--which was subsequently upheld by the First Appellate Court and this Court--the department has failed to grant the full benefits or pay the requisite amount, even after the petitioner's superannuation. This is a fit case for awarding interest, payable from the date of the petitioner's initial entitlement until the final payment is made.
4. Therefore, the respondent authority is directed as follows:
(i) All relevant aspects shall be considered, including the inclusion of the petitioner's name for benefits as per the judgment in Magan Arjanbhai Vegda versus State of Gujarat decided on 26.11.2024 in Civil Appeal No. 13185 of 2024, the provision of stepping up benefits for Page 2 of 4 Uploaded by MS.PARUL DUTTA(HCD0073) on Sat Jul 19 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:26:41 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8685/2019 ORDER DATED: 15/07/2025 undefined the relevant period, and the payment of accrued interest.
(ii) The respondent shall calculate all outstanding dues, accounting for any interim payments already made and specifying the date of entitlement for each component.
(iii) Upon finalising this calculation, the respondent shall pay interest on the outstanding amounts for the respective periods at a rate of 10% per annum.
To facilitate this process, the learned advocate for the petitioner shall provide a detailed calculation of the amounts he has received and the amounts still outstanding to the respondent within one week. The learned AGP shall forward this calculation to the concerned Joint Director (present in Court) for immediate action. The entire process of verification and payment shall be completed by the respondent authority within three weeks from today.
5. The Court observes that this is a case of gross negligence by the concerned officials, who failed to release payments to which the petitioner was legitimately entitled. The Court is compelled to award Page 3 of 4 Uploaded by MS.PARUL DUTTA(HCD0073) on Sat Jul 19 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:26:41 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8685/2019 ORDER DATED: 15/07/2025 undefined interest--which places an additional and avoidable burden on the public exchequer--solely due to this negligence. It is high time the State Government instructs its departments to handle such matters expeditiously. The State Government is at liberty to investigate this matter, fix accountability, and recover the cost of the interest from the officer(s) responsible for the delay.
6. The Court expects these directions will be complied with in true letter and spirit, ensuring the petitioner is not subjected to any further harassment. The petitioner is at liberty to approach this Court in case of any difficulty with compliance.
7. With these directions, the present petition is disposed of. A copy of this order shall be provided to the learned AGP, Ms. Bhati. The Registry is directed to send a copy of this order to the Director of Employment and Training, as well as to respondents nos. 2 and 3 by Registered Post.
(SANDEEP N. BHATT,J) PD Page 4 of 4 Uploaded by MS.PARUL DUTTA(HCD0073) on Sat Jul 19 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:26:41 IST 2025