In the present case it is an admitted fact that the petitioner was an employee of Town Improvement Trust a body constituted under the provisions of M.P. Nagar Sudhar Nyas Adhiniyam, 1960, a body owned and controlled by the State Government. The Town Improvement Trusts were abolished by the State Government and a notification was published in the official gazette on 10th June, 1994. The petitioner was absorbed in the services of Municipal Corporation, Ratlam w.e.f. 01.08.1994. This Court has carefully gone through the order dt. 06.01.1999 passed by the State Government and the aforesaid order reveals that the employees absorbed in the service of local bodies were granted seniority by taking into account their past service. Thus, the petitioner, was also assigned seniority and other benefits flowing out of the seniority for the services rendered by him with Town Improvement Trust, Ratlam. Learned counsel for the respondent Municipal Corporation has vehemently argued before this Court that the Regional, Dy. Director Local Self Government vide letter dt. 05.02.1988 has held that employees absorbed in the services of local bodies will not be entitled for the past services and they will be entitled only for the benefit of contributory provident fund. Letter of the Dy. Director will certainly not supersede the order issued by the State Government and once the decision was taken by the State Government to grant benefit of the past services there appears to be no justification in depriving the petitioner in the matter of grant of benefit of the past services rendered by him with Town Improvement Trust which is certainly a body owned and controlled by the State Government. Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon a Division Bench judgment delivered in the case of Municipal Corporation Gwalior and another v. Ramsewak, 2002 2 MPLJ 148 and his contention is that in a similar situation an employee serving Gram Panchayat was
