HIMANSHU S MEHTA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) The petitioner, an employee of Gujarat Dairy Development Corporation, Gandhinagar through this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a declaration that the action of the respondent-Corporation in not granting him scale of Rs.1400-2600 and decided to redesignating the post of Draughtsman to Tracer as arbitrary, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and illegal null and void. The petitioner has come up with the case that he possessing the certificate course in Draughtsman (Civil) from ITI, he joined the Corporation services as Draftsman (Civil) in the pay scale of Rs.350-560 on 15.2.1984. It is averred that the petitioner when he joined services as Draughtsman (Civil)) did not know the prevailing scale of pay of the Draughtsman (Civil) in the Government Services which at the relevant time was of Rs.425-800. This pay scales were revised from time to time and the petitioner is claiming parity in the pay scale on the ground of equal pay for equal work. It is not in dispute that in the Government of Gujarat and more particularly, in the Civil Engineering Department thereof the pay scale of the post of Draughtsman (Civil) is much more higher than the pay scale of the post of Draughtsman (Civil) in the Corporation. However, merely on the nomenclature or even if holders of the posts in the Corporation or the Government of Gujarat are doing same work still this claim made by the petitioner may not be accepted. It is no more res integra and even if any reference is necessary the reference may have to the decision of the apex court in the case of Shyam Babu Verma Vs. Union of India, 1994(2) SCC 521 on the the basis of the different qualifications for a post in the cadre two pay scales can be legitimately prescribed by the State or the Corporation etc.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner place for the perusal of the court the relevant portion of the Recruitment Rules for the post of Draughtsman (Civil) in the Corporation in its Civil Engineering Department which reads as under :-