NARANBHAI G PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners by this Special Civil Application are raising a question - whether the fixation of a lower grade for persons belonging to the cadre of Social Workers and other cadres but not holding Post-Graduate degree is violative of Art.14 and 16 of the Constitution of India when a higher grade is fixed for persons belonging to the same cadre or cadres but holding Post-Graduate degree.

(2.) In para 30 of this Special Civil Application, the petitioners stated that when the Gujarat State Extension Educators' Mahamandal, which is a Union of the Extension Educators, came to know about the fact of prescribing of two pay scales for the same post on the basis of the qualifications, it filed a petition in this Court being Special Civil Application No. 3388 of 1981 in August, 1981 or thereabout and this Court was pleased to issue a Rule in the said petition and was also pleased to pass an interim order restraining the respondents of the said petition from calling upon the petitioners of the said petition to repay difference in salary consequent to the clarification made by the State Government as aforesaid and also restraining them from degrading the petitioners of the said petition to a lower grade Rs. 425-700 and from denying them the grade of Rs. 550-900 interalia. It has further been stated by the petitioners that the aforesaid petition was filed by the Association of Extension Educators and that however since some individuals were being affected by the impugned orders of the State Government, the petitioners also believed that the benefit of the orders passed by this Court would be available to the petitioners also and that therefore, they did not file any separate petition, as the matter was taken up by the Association, who was a party in the aforesaid petition. Then the petitioners have come up with a case that despite the orders of this Court, the Panchayats adopted a discriminatory attitude and that though the Gandhinagar District Panchayat under whom the petitioners are working at present did not make recovery but relegated the petitioners to the scale of Rs. 425-700 on the ground that the petitioners were not holding the Post- Graduate degree and that the petitioners, therefore, are not getting the pay scale of Rs. 550-900 even though their brethren in Mehsana District Panchayat and other State Institutions are getting the benefit of the grade of Rs. 550-900.

(3.) The Special Civil Application No. 3388 of 1981 has been decided by this Court on 13/21-7-1984 and the prescribing of two pay scales for the post in question with reference to the qualifications was held to be valid and legal. However, so far as the question of recovery of amount stated to be paid in excess to the Graduate Social Workers holding other similar posts was concerned, it was also held to be valid.