STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. T GOPALAKRISHNAN MURTHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is by certificate of fitness granted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The point concerns the scope and the power of the Chief Justice under Art. 229(2) of the Constitution of India. The Chief Justice of the High Court wanted the High Court staff to be paid at the scales of pay of equivalent posts in the Secretariat staff of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Government did not agree to do so. The respondents who are members of the High Court service belonging to the categories of Bench Clerks, Lower Division Clerks, Typists and certain other categories filed a writ petition in the High Court for a writ of mandamus against the appellants directing them to implement the recommendations of the Chief Justice of the High Court made to the Government from time to time to fix the pay scales of the various categories to which the respondents belong in accordance with the scales of pay as revised by the State Government in case of corresponding categories detailed in Annexure III of the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat service. The High Court has allowed the writ petition and directed the Government to give effect to the recommendations of the Chief Justice embodied in the letters of the Registrar of the High Court, D/- 31-3-1969 and 1-7-1969 with such allowances and such benefits as are admissible to the members of the Secretariat service in the Secretariat.

(2.) A few facts may be stated for determination of the point at issue in April, 1965 a Pay Commission was appointed by the Government to make recommendations in regard to the revision of pay scales of Government employees in the various services. The Pay Commission submitted its report in 1967. In respect of certain categories of the High Court staff, but not all, the Commission recommended to give them the pay scales of their counter-parts in the Secretariat.

(3.) The Assistant Secretary to the Government wrote a letter dated 12-2-1969 to the Registrar requesting that a comprehensive note together with the latest scales of pay obtaining in the other High Courts may kindly be sent to the Government for placing the same before the Officers Committee for consideration. A detailed letter dated 31-3-1969 was written by the Registrar to the Government with reference to some earlier letters of the High Court and in reply to the Government's letter dated 12-2-1969. Facts and figures from other States were given to show that in most of the States the scales of pay allowed to the members of the High Court service were identical with those of the Secretariat staff and the Government was asked to agree to the proposal of the Chief Justice to bring the pay scales of the High Court staff at par with those of the Secretariat. The matter was pursued by the High Court in the Registrar's letter dated 1-7-1969 addressed to the Secretary to the Govt. Finance (Pay commission) Department and in the D.O. letter dated 23-7-1969 written by the Chief Justice to the Chief Minister. The Government did not agree to the equation of the scales of pay of the staff of the High Court to those of the Secretariat's. The High Court was, accordingly informed. Thereupon respondents filed the writ petition in January, 1970.