1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

DIST: AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. OF 2021

In the matter Article 14, 16,

21 and 226 of the Constitution
of India;

A N D

In the matter of granting

TH
benefits of 7 Pay
Commission;

A N D

In the service matter between;

Deepakkumar Jaykrishna Danak

Aged 65 Sex-Male, Religion- Hindu,
Residing at-
382/1, Abhishek Duplex,
Shreyas Society,
Sector-22,
Gandhinagar. …Petitioner
Versus

1. Nirma University,
Notice to be served through
The Registrar,Nirma University
Having Office at-
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway,
Post- Chandlodia,
Ahmedabad.
2. State of Gujarat
Notice to be served through,
The Secretary,
Education Department,
Sachivalay, Gandhinagar.
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3. University Grants Commission

Notice to be served through,
The Secretary,
University Grants Commission,
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi – 110002. …Respondents

TO,

THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE

AND OTHER HON’BLE JUDGES

OF THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT

AT AHMEDABAD

THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE

PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED;

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH THAT:

1.It is respectfully submitted that the

petitioner is a national and citizen of

India and therefore entitled to all the

fundamental rights guaranteed under the

Constitution of India.

2.Despite the fact that the petitioner is

qualified to get the benefits of arrears

under 7th Pay Commission pay Scale but the

Respondent University has not granted the

same without any logical reason.

3. The respondent in the present case is the

University governed by the Nirma University

Act, 2003 enacted by Government of Gujarat

 3

(GUJARAT ACT NO. 10 OF 2003) and is

recognised by the University Grants

Commission to impart the education at the

graduation, post-graduation, and doctorate

levels.

4.The facts leading to file present petition

are as under:

5.It is respectfully submitted that with

reference to the application of the

petitioner for a faculty position and

subsequent interview with the respondent,

the Governing Council of the erstwhile Nirma

Institute of Management which was later on

brought under the purview of the Respondent

University by renaming it as Institute of

Management, offered an appointment to the

petitioner on 26.10.2002 as an Associate

Professor in the Scale of 16400-450-20000.

The starting basic pay in that grade was

fixed at Rs. 18,650/- P.m.

6.Then the petitioner was promoted to the post

of Professor on 01.10.2006 by the respondent

university, and his basic salary was fixed

at 57980 in the pay scale of 37400-67000

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with grade pay of 10000 under the 6th Pay

Commission pay scales.

7.It is respectfully submitted that the

service of the petitioner was governed by

the rules in force at the institute from

time to time in all matters such as dearness

and other allowances, leave, medical,

provident fund and other benefits and

conditions of services.

A copy of Regulations for Conditions of

Service and Conduct downloaded from the

website of the respondent university is

annexed herewith as ANNEXURE-A.

8.It is respectfully submitted that after his

appointment, petitioner was engaged in his

duties as per the norms of respondent

University. The petitioner was further

assigned many academic and administrative

responsibilities as per the need of the

respondent, including his appointment as In-

charge Dean, Faculty of Commerce from April

2017 to July 2018.

9.It is respectfully submitted that the

respondent University by way of a circular

dated 07.07.17 granted interim relief

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against the proposed implementation of the

recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission.

A copy of the order granting the interim

relief against the implementation of the 7th

Pay Commission is annexed herewith and marked

as ANNEXURE – B. It is further submitted that

by giving the benefits of interim relief, the

respondent university had frozen the Dearness

Allowance till the date of actual

implementation of the 7th Pay Commission pay

scales (i.e.______________).

10. It is respectfully submitted that during

the tenure of the petitioner, the 7th Pay

Commission recommendations were accepted by

the Central Government and subsequently the

UGC/AICTE had accepted the recommendations

of the Pay Commission, and accordingly the

UGC by way of the Circular dated 02.11.17

fixed the revised pay scale of the faculty.

A copy of the Circular dated 02.11.17 issued

by the Government of India, Ministry of HRD is

annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE C.

11. It is respectfully submitted that the

respondent University vide its circular

dated 23.03.2019 had accepted the

 6

implementation of the 7th Pay Commission

recommendations and the directives issued in

this regard by the State Government. The

respondent University had however laid down

extra and erroneous considerations in the

grant of the benefits of the 7th Pay

Commission. By way of the Annexures to the

said circular the erroneous condition of the

publication of the research papers in the

recognised journals was issued by the

University. The relevant para in the

Circular dated 23.03.19 entitled as Annexure

‘B’ reads as under:

“The benefits of the 7th pay will be released

in toto, to faculty members in the cadre of
Professors & Associate Professors subject to
the conditions that they should have at
least two publications in SCOPUS Indexed
journals* during the last 3 years.

Faculty who don’t meet with the above

conditions will not be given the 7th pay in
total. They will continue with the 6th Pay
along with the interim relief of 7th Pay and
as and when they meet the above conditions,
7th Pay in toto will be given with the
retrospective effect from the date of
implementation of 7th Pay in the University.”

Note: * / # Publications in refereed journal

indexed in the Web of Science / SCOPUS /
Hein Database / ABDC / EBSCO (Arts &
Architecture) or any other journal approved
by Director General are applicable. However,
for faculty of ITNU / IPNU / ISNU
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Publications only in Web of Science / SCOPUS

indexed journals are applicable
*ln case of publication, Indian Citation
index also applicable.

A copy of the said circular dated 23.03.19 is

annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE D.

12. It is respectfully submitted that pursuant

to the circular dated 23.03.19, by the hard

efforts and zealous endeavours of the

petitioner, he was able to publish three

research papers in the ratified journals

before his retirement. Since the condition

stipulated for publishing only two research

papers, the petitioner upon publishing the

second research paper, had informed the

Respondent University through the official

channels of communication about fulfilling

the condition through an email dated

22.09.2020.(PLEASE MENTION THE DATES OF

PUCHLISHING FIRST AND SENCOND RESEARCH PAPER

AT APPROPRIATE PLACE.)

A copy of the email correspondence made by

the Petitioner to the Respondent University

dated 22.09.20 is annexed herewith and

marked as ANNEXURE E.
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13. It is respectfully submitted that the

petitioner by an email reminded the Director

of Institute of Management about the

grievance regarding the consideration of his

case for the grant of benefits of the 7th Pay

Commission pay scale as per the University

Circular dated 23.03.19.

A copy of the reminder by the way of email

dated 04.12.20 is annexed herewith and

marked as ANNEXURE F.

14. It is respectfully submitted that the

petitioner received a letter for

superannuation on 28.02.2021 from the

regular service of the respondent University

as per the Nirma University Rules of

Service.

The copy of the said order of superannuation

dated 01.02.21 is annexed herewith and

marked as ANNEXURE G.

15. It is further submitted that the

petitioner had time and again reminded the

university functionaries/authorities at the

respondent University for considering the

case of the petitioner for granting him

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benefits of the 7th Pay Commission pay scale.

In the chain of the events, the petitioner

had written a detailed letter to the

Executive Registrar, Nirma University on

06.02.21, wherein the petitioner had made it

clear that how not granting him the 7 Pay

Commission pay scale was both illegal as

well as unethical on the part of the

respondent university. Particularly, the

petitioner enumerated following three

grounds that would result into an illegal

act on the part of the respondent university

if he was deprived of the 7th Pay Commission

pay scales.

(i) It is obligatory upon the Nirma

University to implement the pay revisions as

per the notifications of the UGC and the

Government of Gujarat. Those notifications

did not stipulate any publication related

conditions that the university had added on

its own.

(ii) Even after meeting with the added

condition of publications, the 7th Pay

revision benefit was not granted to the

petitioner.
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(iii) As per the impression of the

petitioner, those faculty members who were

initially not granted the 7th Pay revision

for the want of required publications were

later on granted the 7th Pay revision till

February 2020 upon satisfying the condition

of publications. Thus, later on, not

granting the petitioner the benefit of 7th

pay revision upon satisfying the publication

condition (as shown in his email dated

22.09.2020 and marked as Annexure-E) would

result into an unlawful act of

discriminating between employees.

A copy of the communication dated 06.02.21 is

annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE H.

16. It is respectfully submitted that not only

that the 7th pay commission pay scale was not

granted to the petitioner till the date of

his retirement, but his Dearness Allowance

under his prevailing 6th Pay Commission pay

scale was also frozen. Such an unlawful act

of the respondent university has resulted

into a less than required contribution of

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the employer to the petitioner’s Provident

Fund.

As a proof of it, a copy of the relevant pages

from the petitioner’s Provident Fund Account

passbook downloaded on 29.08.21 is annexed

herewith as ANNEXURE-I.

17. It is respectfully submitted that upon his

retirement on 28.02.21, the petitioner was

paid the following retirement benefits as

detailed below.

(i)Gratuity: It was paid on 01.04.21.

(ii)Leave Encashment: It was paid on

01.06.21.

However, the petitioner had not been paid

arrears amount of the 7th Pay Commission

revision of pay scales till then, and hence

on 01.06.21 he had again brought it to the

notice of the university authority.

A copy of the communication from date

01.06.21 to 04.07.21 are annexed herewith

and marked as ANNEXURE-J.

18. It is further respectfully submitted that

the petitioner’s salary account with Kalupur

Bank was credited by the respondent

university on 15.06.21 by Rs. 2,40,638

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towards 7th pay arrears. The amount of the

arrears was less than the arrears amount

ought to have been paid to him as per the

circular of the Respondent University dated

23.03.19. Therefore, the petitioner on the

receipt of the arrears immediately informed

the Respondent University for the detailed

statement of the calculation of the arrears.

However, the respondent university has not

given any calculations, till date.

The copy of the communication dated 15.06.21

is a part and parcel of ANNEXURE-J.

19. It is further respectfully submitted that

the petitioner had received the order of the

Full and Final Settlement upon his

superannuation with the erred computation of

the arrears by the Respondent University.

The said order was communicated to the

petitioner on 16.06.21.

A copy of the order dated 16.06.21 is annexed

herewith and marked as ANNEXURE K.

20. It is further respectfully submitted that

the petitioner had requested the respondent

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university to share the details of the

calculations of the Gratuity, the Leave

Encashment, and the Salary Arrears by emails

dated 15.06.21, 21.06.21 and 04.07.21. Copy

of the said emails are forming part and

parcel of ANNEXURE-J. However, no such

details are shared by the respondent

university, so far.

21. It is further respectfully submitted that

against one written and many other email

communications, the respondent university

has reverted back only twice through emails

dated 18.06.21 and 03.07.21 and the same is

forming part and parcel of ANNEXURE-J.

However, the contents of those emails were

not addressing the issues raised by the

petitioner.

22. It is further respectfully submitted that

in absence of any details of the basis of

the calculations of those three payments,

the petitioner, upon trying out to infer

about the basis of the calculations, has

developed the following assumptions with

regard to the basis of the calculations.

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(i) For Gratuity: The revision of salary

under the 7th Pay Commission seems to have

been effected from 01.01.16.

(ii)For Leave Encashment: The last pay drawn

seems to have been worked out in sync with

the calculation of Gratuity. That is, the

revision of salary under the 7th Pay

Commission seems to have been effected from

01.01.16.

(iii) For Salary Arrears: As revealed by the

respondent university, they are calculated

from June 2020.

23. It is further respectfully submitted that

if the above-stated assumptions in Para 22

are correct, then it would become clear that

the respondent university has adopted two

conflicting bases for those calculations. If

so, then based on the calculations of

Gratuity and Leave Encashment, it can be

interpreted that the university also accepts

that the 7th pay revision for the petitioner

had to be effected from 01.01.16. If so, it

is beyond our understanding that why a

different basis for Salary Arrears is

adopted by the respondent university.

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24. It is further respectfully submitted that

the petitioner by way of his email dated

21.06.21 as annexed at ANNEXURE-J had

communicated his dissatisfaction to the

impugned order dated 16.06.21 and the

erroneous method of the calculation of the

arrears adopted by the Respondent

University.

25. It is further respectfully submitted that

the petitioner with his zealous efforts had

also published a third research paper in a

ratified journal on 01.01.2021, and

immediately informed the university about

it.

26. That the Respondent No. 1 is the authority

established by the state under Art.12 of the

Constitution to make the fundamental rights

under part III of the Constitution

justiciable against the Respondent. Hence

the applicant herein had no other

alternative remedy but to approach this

Hon'ble court and seek for appropriate

directions.

27. In view of the above facts stated and the

final order of the Full and Final Settlement

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passed by the Respondent University, the

petitioner herein files the captioned

petition on the following amongst the other

grounds that may be urged at the time of

hearing of the present petition:

GROUNDS

A.That the order passed by the University is

perverse and bad in law and the order dated

16.06.2021 being passed without assigning

any cogent and rational reason is required

to be quashed and set aside.

B.Because the petitioner was regular

employee, and all the conditions put forth

by the University for the Implementation of

the 7t Pay Commission pay scale have been

met in toto by the Petitioner.

C.Because non-payment of the arrears as per

the circular dated 23.03.19 will lead to

the miscarriage of justice and against the

tenets of the natural justice, equity and

fairness.

28. The petitioner craves leave to add, alter,

amend, delete and/or substitute any of the

ground/s as and when it is necessary in the

interest of justice.
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29. The petitioner has no other alternative

equally efficacious remedy at law but to

approach this Hon'ble Court by way of the

present petition.

30. The petitioner herein has not filed any

other petition or application before this

Hon’ble Court or any subordinate Court or

the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the

nature of the subject matter of this

petition.

31. In view of the above grounds and the

stated facts mentioned, the petitioner

herein comes before this Hon. court with

folded hands and prays that:

A.The captioned petition may be admitted

and allowed;

B.The Hon’ble Court may be pleased to

issue Writ in nature of Mandamus or any

appropriate writ, order or direction

declaring the impugned order at AANEXURE

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M passed by the Respondent No.1 Nirma

University dated 16.06.2021 to be

illegal, unfair, unreasonable and be

further pleased to quash and set aside

the order passed by the University and

all other subsequent and consequential

actions and proceedings.

C. The Hon’ble Court may be pleased to

direct the University to provide for the

arrears to the petitioner as per the

circular dated 23.03.19 in accordance

with law.

D.The Hon’ble Court may be pleased to

grant the interest @8% on the amount of

the arrears from the date of application

of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations

in the University, and the cutoff date

being 01.04.2017 on the pending arrears.

E.Be pleased to grant any other and further

relief and benefits as may be deemed fit in

the facts and circumstances of the case.

AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS AND JUSTICE,

THE PETITONER SHALL AS IN DUTY BOUND FOREVER

PRAY
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Date: /08/21 Ashish B. Desai

Place: Ahmedabad Advocate for the Petitioner

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

DIST: AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. OF 2021

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARATAT AHMEDABAD

DISTRICT: AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. OF 2021

Deepakkumar Jaykrishna Danak…Petitioners

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Versus

Nirma University &Others. …Respondents

AFFIDAVIT

I, Deepakkumar Jaykrishna Danak, Aged:__,

Male, residing at the address mentioned in

cause title. The petitioner No.1 herein, do

hereby state on solemn affirmation as

under:-

1.I say that I am the petitioner herein and as

such am fully conversant with the facts of

the present petition and am competent to

file this affidavit.

2. I say that that what is stated hereinabove

in paragraph Nos. 1 to 30, is true to the

best of my own knowledge and information;

and I believe the same to be true and para

31 is the prayer clause.

3.I have not concealed any material facts from

this Hon'ble Court. I further say that the

copies of the documents annexed with the

petition are the true Photostat copies of

their respective originals and that the

contents thereof are true and correct.

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What is stated hereinabove is true and

correct.

Solemnly affirmed at _______ day Augustof

2021.

____________________

Deponent

Identified by me:

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

DIST: AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. OF 2021

Dr. Deepakkumar Jaykrishna Danak …Petitioners

Versus

Nirma University & 1 Ors. …Respondents

List of Dates and Events

Date Event
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26.10.2002 Order of Appointment as

Associate Professor with

the University
01.10.2006 Promotion as Professor

of University
April’17 In charge Dean Institute

- of Management, Nirma

July’18 Univesrsity
07.07.2017 Circular by University

accepting the

recommendation of the 7th

Pay Commission and

providing ad interim

relief against the

same .
02.11.2017 Circular by UGC fixing

the pay scale of the

faculty under the 7th Pay

Commission.
23.03.2019 Circular by the

University accepting the

7th Pay recommendation.

Dates of The publications by the

Publication petitioner as per

as per University requirements

email dated

23/09/2020
22.09.2020 Correspondence to the
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University regarding

meeting the publication

requirement.
04.12.2020 Reminder for the 7th Pay

arrears to the concerned

authority
01.01.2021 Publication of the 3rd

Research paper by the

petitioner and the

intimidation to

university
01.02.2021 Order of Superannuation
06.02.2021 Representation to the

Exe. Registrar for the

grievance
01.04.2021 Payment of Gratuity as

per 7th Pay

recommendation
01.06.2021 Payment of the leave

encashment as per 7th Pay

04.06.2021 Communication to the

University regarding the

pending arrears
15.06.2021 Payment of the arrears

by the University and

communication to

university regarding the

dissatisfaction for the

same calculation.
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16.06.2021 Order of full and final

settlement.
18.06.2021 University reverted back

to the communications by

the petitioner.
21.06.2021 Communication by

petitioner for the

calculations of the

arrears and the reminder

01.07.2021 Communication by

petitioner for the

calculations of the

arrears and the reminder

03.07.2021 University reverted to

the communication dated

01.07.2021
04.07.2021 Communication sent for

the calculation for the

arrears.

Date: /08/21 Ashish B. Desai

Place:Ahmedabad Advocate for the

Petitioner
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

DIST: AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. OF 2021

Dr. Deepakkumar Jaykrishna Danak …Petitioners

Versus

Nirma University & 1 Ors. …Respondents

SYNOPSIS

The petition being the Professor of the Nirma

University is eligible for the benefits of the 7 th

Pay Commission recommendations which have been

accepted by the University. However, upon the

superannuation the petitioner had been denied the

benefits of the 7th Pay as per the University. The

petitioner being subjected to the arbitrary

calculations of arrears not as per the UGC

regulations or the regulations of the University.

Thus, the present petition.

INDEX
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Sr.No. Annexures Particulars Page

No.
1 - Synopsis and List of

dates of events.
2 - Memo of the petition.
3 A A copy of the

Regulation and the

Conditions of Service

of the University
4 B A Copy of circular of

the University

granting the relief

against the

implementation of the

7th Pay Commission

dated 07.07.17
5 C A copy of Ministry of

Human Resource

Development for the

revised pay under the

7th Pay by the UGC

dated 02.11.17
6 D A copy of circular by

the Respondent

University dated

23.03.19 accepting the

recommendation of the

UGC in the regard of

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7th Pay Commission

7 E A copy of email

correspondence between

the Petitioner and the

Respondent University

dated 22.09.20

regarding the

publication
8 F A copy of reminder by

the way of email dated

04.12.20
9 G A copy of order of

superannuation dated

01.02.21
10 H A copy of

communication dated

06.02.21 to Exe.

Registrar
11 I Copy of the Passbook

of the PPF Account of

the petitioner
12 J A copy of the

communication dated

from 01.06.21 till

04.07.21 between

petitioner and

Respondent University.
13 K A copy of the full and
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final settlement order

of dated 16.06.21