1. The issue involved in this petitions is person who has been appointed in a Panchayat without following the procedures laid down under Section 203(4)(b) of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961 can be treated as a member of the Panchayat service so as to claim the pensionary benefits under Gujarat Panchayat Service (Pension) Rules, 1976 and the Family Pension Scheme, 1972, and/or such appointee can be treated as an employee retired from the Panchayat service, is decided by the Division Bench of this Court in Letters Patent Appeal No. 1381 of 2004 and other cognate matters, wherein it was held in para 19 as under: “Those employees who have been appointed in the Panchayat service following the procedure laid down under Section 203 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, can be treated as member of the Panchayat service entitled to get pensionary benefits under Gujarat Panchayat Service (Pension) Rules, 1976 and Family Pension Scheme, 1972. We further hold that those persons who have been appointed by the Panchayat in their service otherwise than following the above mentioned statutory procedure are entitled to get pensionary benefits and family pension only if there is a Scheme available with the respective Panchayats. We make it clear if any pensionary benefits including Family Pension have already been paid to the petitioners on the strength of the judgments of the Court, they shall not be recovered from them, but they are not entitled to any future payments.”
2. In view of the above, the present petitions stand disposed of in the aforesaid terms.
[K.S.JHAVERI,J] Siddharth//