- (1.) The present appeals, by special leave, assail the judgment and order dated 17.7.2013 in LPA No. 1070/1998 whereby the Division Bench of the High Court has opined that against the order of the learned Single Judge under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, an intra-court appeal is not maintainable, and also question the defensibility of judgment and order dated 30.7.1998 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No. 7469 of 1997 whereunder he has concurred with the award passed by the Labour Court which had, on the strength of a compromise entered into by the Sarpanch of Nava Naroda Gram Panchayat, the 2nd respondent with the workman and on that basis had directed his reinstatement in service on the post of a clerk with full back wages.
(2.) At the outset, it is necessary to clarify that we are not disposed to dwell upon the maintainability of the letters patent appeal before the Division Bench as that issue would be addressed separately in other cases. It is also apposite to mention here that the orders have been assailed by the Gram Panchayat as well as by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (for short, 'the Corporation'), for both had preferred the intra-court appeal assailing the award of the Labour Court as well as the judgment and order of the learned Single Judge. Be that as it may, as the Panchayat has preferred the appeal, it requires to be addressed on merits.
(3.) The factual score which is necessary to be depicted are that the 1st respondent was appointed as a 'Mukadam' with the Gram Panchayat vide order dated 21.5.1995. He was dismissed from service by oral order dated 23.1.1996. The said order of dismissal constrained the first respondent to raise an industrial dispute vide Reference No. 531 of 1996 before the Labour Court, Ahmedabad. No written statement was filed before the Labour Court, but a compromise was entered into between the workman and the Sarpanch stating, inter alia, that the workman was working as a clerk in the Gram Panchayat and he would be reinstated in service on the post of Clerk with continuous service and would be entitled to get all future benefits and further whatever amount is payable towards the post of Clerk, would be paid in three monthly instalments and his service would be continuous.;