NARAHARI JENA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners who were Assistant Engineers (belonging to the Subordinate Engineering Service Cadre) in the Design Section of the Irrigation wing have raised in this writ application an interesting question, namely, whether the principle 'equal pay for equal work' is applicable to them and if they can enforce their right by invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court.

(2.) ON the demand of the Joint Committee of Service Associations of Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and of the Subordinate Engineering Service Association, a committee of Chief Engineers was appointed to identify posts which carried higher responsibility and/or required higher technical knowledge to be appropriately manned by Assistant Engineers In different engineering departments. The Committee of Chief Engineers categorised the following posts as carrying higher responsibility and/or requiring higher technical knowledge so as to be manned by Assistant Engineers

(3.) THE stand of the opposite parties In a nut shell is that when posts of Sub -Assistant Engineers were upgraded as Assistant Engineers, the incumbents were not entitled to special pay. It is worthwhile to quote the recommendation of the Chief Engineer to Government dated August 31, 1982 (Annexure -5):