BALWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are the Senior and Junior Translators working in Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat, Chandigarh and they have filed the present writ petition against the respondents seeking the directions that respondents be directed to grant the pay scales of Rs. 1640-2900 + Rs. 80/- as special pay to the Senior Translators and Rs. 1400-2600 + Rs. 40/- to the Junior Translators as per recommendation made by the Fourth Central Pay Commission. In the alternative, the petitioners made a prayer that they should be granted the pay scale of Rs. 1600-2600 as is being paid to the Translators working in the office of Legal Remembrancer Haryana and Agriculture Department of Haryana with effect from 1.1.1986.

(2.) The case set up by the petitioners is that petitioners No. 1 to 3 are working as Senior Translators while petitioners No. 4 and 5 are working as Junior Translators in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat. The essential qualifications for the post of Junior Translators are Graduate with Hindi as one of the elective subjects and for Senior Translators Graduate with Hindi as one of the elective subjects with five years experience as Junior Translator in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat. The job of the petitioners is to translate into English all the notices of questions, resolutions, adjournment motions, privilege motions etc. and also to translate into Hindi of all the lists of business of the House. The petitioners allege that the 4th Pay Commission recommended the pay scales of Rs. 1649-2900 for the Senior Translators and Rs. 1400-2600 for Junior Translators. The State of Haryana accepted the recommendations and revised the pay scales of the employees working in the State of Haryana vide Notification dated 29.4.1987 but the petitioners were not granted the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900 + Rs. 80/- special pay and Rs. 1400-2600 + Rs. 40/- respectively but they were granted pay scale of Rs. 900-1500 + Rs. 40/- as special pay and Rs. 1400-2600 + Rs. 80/- as special pay to the Junior Translators/Senior Translators respectively. The same pay scale has been granted to the Clerks/Assistants in the State of Haryana. The petitioners made a representation on 29.6.1987 that their counter parts working in the Central Government Offices are getting the pay scale, claimed in the writ petition and, therefore, they should also be placed in the grade of Rs. 1640-2900 for Senior Translators and Rs. 1400-2600 for Junior Translators. The matter was referred to the Anomaly Committee. The petitioners appeared before the Commission but to no effect. It was also alleged by the petitioners that Deputy Chief Minister who was holding the port-folio of Finance Minister made a statement in the budget speech to the effect that the State of Haryana had accepted the revision of pay scales as recommended by the 4th Central Pay Commission and that the State of Haryana had granted to all its employees the pay scales which were being given to their counter parts working in the Central Government. It was also declared by the Finance Minister that there were certain categories which have not been granted an identical pay scales to their counter-parts but their cases have been referred to the Anomaly Committee. Thus, the first ground made out by the petitioners is that since the recommendation of the 4th Central Pay Commission has been accepted by the Haryana Government and it has been made applicable to the other employees of the Government of Haryana, therefore, the petitioners cannot be discriminated in the grant of the scale of Rs. 1640-2900 for Senior Translators and Rs. 1400-2600 for Junior Translators when their counterparts in the Central Government are getting these scales. It violates the principles of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

(3.) The second ground made out by the petitioners is that the qualifications, duties and responsibilities of the petitioners are the same as being performed by their counter-parts working in the various departments like the Office of Legal Remembrancer, Haryana and Agriculture Department, Haryana but inspite of the fact that the qualifications, duties and responsibilities are the same, the petitioners are not being paid the same pay scales as are being given to Senior and Junior Translators working in the office of L.R. Haryana and Agriculture Department. Now the State of Haryana has revised the pay scales of Assistants/Senior Scale Stenographers to Rs. 1600-2660, therefore, the petitioners should be given this grade of Rs. 1600-2660. This is the alternative plea of the petitioners. It was also pleaded by the petitioners that the Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, has recommended to the State Government the pay scales of Rs. 1649-2900 for Senior Translators and Rs. 1400-2600 for Junior Translators but in spite of the recommendation this benefit is not being extended to the petitioners. With this background, the petitioners have claimed the higher pay scale as stated above.