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SCA/14162/2010 2/ 2 ORDER
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL
CIVIL APPLICATION No. 14162 of 2010
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R
P MEHTA - Petitioner(s)
Versus
HIGH
COURT OF GUJARAT & 1 - Respondent(s)
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Appearance :
MR
JT TRIVEDI for Petitioner(s) : 1,
None for Respondent(s) : 1 -
2.
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CORAM
:
HONOURABLE
THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA
and
HONOURABLE
MR.JUSTICE ANANT S. DAVE
Date
: 26/10/2010
ORAL ORDER
(Per
: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA)
The
petitioner, a retired Judicial Officer, has preferred this writ
petition against Office Order No. 19 of 2007 dated 12.12.2007,
whereby the Principal District Judge, Surat, giving reference to the
notification issued by the High Court of Gujarat dated 19.5.2005
regarding merger of the cadre of Assistant Judges into the cadre of
Senior Civil Judges, observed that in view of the provision as
referred to in the said order, the Judges, including the petitioner,
were ad-hoc Assistant Judges and were allowed two notional increments
on their promotion as ad-hoc Assistant Judges, they cannot be
protected on account of their merger in the cadre of Senior Civil
Judges which has merged with effect from 9.5.2005 and thereby ordered
to withdraw the two notional increments which were alleged to have
been wrongly granted in favour of the five Judicial Officers
including the petitioner.
2. The
learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner would contend
that the notification of the High Court of Gujarat dated 19.5.2005
was wrongly interpreted as merger of the cadre and on wrong
presumption, the order of withdrawal of increments was passed by the
Principal District Judge, Surat.
3. From
the record, it appears that as per the High Court of Gujarat letter
dated 18.8.2005, the claim of ad-hoc Senior Civil Judges for
protecting their pay and for placing them in the cadre of Senior
Civil Judges, it was found that they were not entitled to protection
of their notional increments and, therefore, the two notional
increments granted to those Judicial Officers due to their ad-hoc
promotion to the post of Assistant Judges were ordered to be
withdrawn. The said order was given effect and the amount has
already been deducted and for three years, the petitioner did not
choose to challenge the said order. In that background, after delay
of about three years, we are not inclined to interfere with the order
merely on the ground that the petitioner could not challenge the same
as he was in service and now having retired, he can challenge the
same.
The
writ petition is accordingly dismissed.
[S.J.
MUKHOPADHAYA, CJ.]
[ANANT
S. DAVE, J.]
Sundar/*
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