PRASHANT SHAMRAO DAKHOLE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The grievance of the petitioner in this writ petition is that the Government Resolution dated 5th March 1992 by which the State Government has revised the stipend only of the House Officers and Registrars working in the Government Colleges and Hospitals is arbitrary, discriminatory and is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The petitioner is working as Registrar in the hospital attached to the respondent No. 4-Ayurved Mahavidyalaya which is given grant-in-aid by the State Government. The Government bears cent per cent expenditure upon the salaries of the staff as well as upon the stipend to be paid to the internees, House Officers and Registrars, i.e., the Residents.

(2.) As regards the stipend paid to the Residents, the State Government had by its Resolution dated 20th December 1988, fixed the stipend for all the residents including the internees working in the hospitals attached to the Government Ayurvedic College as well as the hospitals attached to the private grant-in-aid Ayurvedic and Unani Colleges with effect from 1-4-1987. The State Government thereafter revised the said stipend by its Resolution dated 29th March 1990 for the Residents and Registrars working in the Hospitals attached to the Government Ayurvedic Colleges as well as the private grant-in-aid Ayurvedic Colleges.

(3.) It is pertinent to see that by the above Government Resolutions the revision was effected in the stipend of the Residents working in the hospitals attached to the Government Ayurvedic Colleges as well as those working in the hospitals attached to the private grant-in-aid Ayurvedic Colleges. However, by the Government Resolution dated 5th March 1992, the Government revised the stipend of the Residents working in the hospitals attached to the Government Ayurvedic Colleges and Mahatma Gandhi Smriti Hospital run under Stage Labour Insurance Scheme only. The petitioner therefore made a representation to the Government that since the terms and conditions offered to the Residents in the private grant-in-aid colleges are the same as those offered to the Residents working in the hospitals attached to the Government colleges there should not be any discrimination in payment of stipend to them and thus they should also be given the same revision which is made in respect of the Residents working in the hospitals attached to the Government Ayurvedic Colleges. Since the Government did not accede to the request made by the petitioner, the petitioner has preferred the instant writ petition.