The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Gujarat government for appealing against a Sep 2023 High Court order to regularise the services of sanitation worker Devendrakumar C Solanki. 

“Instead of complying (with) the (HC) order, the State has to drag a sweeper in this litigation. We are calling for an affidavit that must be filed by the officer who has given this advice for filing of this Special Leave Petition,” the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale reportedly said in its order.

Back in 2000, Solanki had filed a writ petition claiming that he had worked as a part-time sweeper in the office of the Industries Commissioner, Bhavnagar, since Aug 1, 1983. He claimed that his requests for regularisation had not been addressed despite numerous representations. This went against a resolution dated December 11, 1984, which mandated the regularisation of part-time sweepers after 10 years of service, he had asserted. 

On Aug 14, the Supreme Court justices expressed disappointment that the state had chosen protracted litigation instead of complying with the HC order.  

“We want to know specifically as to which officer has advised filing of this special leave petition (SLP) against the decisions of the High Court,” the legal news website Bar and Bench quoted Justice Nath as saying. 

The court also stated that costs could be recovered from those responsible for unnecessarily prolonging the case.

Notably, the apex court fined the Tamil Nadu government ₹1 lakh in Dec 2022 for stretching out a similar case.