SUDHIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN pursuance of Advertisement Notice No. 3/1997 dated 29.04.1997, petitioners, possessing the prescribed academic and technical qualifications required for the post of Computer Assistant, alongwith other candidates applied for the same and had participated in the selection process. The petitioners, vide State Pollution Control Board Order No. 74 of 1999 dated 29.04.1999 and State Pollution Control Board Order No. 64 of 1999 dated 20.04.1999, came to be appointed to the posts of Computer Assistants (State Cadre) in the pre -revised pay scale of Rs. 1400 -2600.

(2.) PETITIONERS further claimed to have worked efficiently on entire computer operating system ranging from MS DOS, MS -Windows,

(3.) 1/Windows -95, Novel Netware and Application Software Packages, having worked at various places on contractual basis and gained good experience before taking up this job with the State Government. It is further contended that respondent No. 1 appointed Computer Operators in the pay scale of Rs. 2000 -3200 (pre -revised) with qualification of 10 + 2 and diploma in Computers after their selection in pursuance of advertisement notice No. 3/1996 dated 24.12.1996 issued by the J&K Service Selection Board, whereas the qualification prescribed for the post of Computer Assistant which the petitioners at present are holding is graduation with diploma in Computers. Petitioners also claimed that the persons appointed in different departments of the State Government with lesser academic qualification are placed in higher grade than those of petitioners. That there is anomaly in their pay -scales and grades with their counter parts in other department of the State Government and the writ petitioners are, thus, discriminated on unreasonable and unjustifiable grounds. 3. To press their claim to be entitled to 'equal pay for equal work, the petitioners represented to the Government that they being more qualified than the requisitioned qualification in the advertisement notice with vast experience in computer knowledge and its application have not been granted the pay scale to which they are entitled to. As regards the nature of job being attended to by the petitioners, they have placed on record the job description with the writ petition as annexure 'J. It is further submitted that above Computer Assistant, the next higher post is Computer Analyst for which the qualification though prescribed is M.C.A. but the said qualification is not considered exactly equivalent to B.E. The B.Es. have sound knowledge both in software and hardware, whereas the M.C.A. have only the knowledge of software aspect. The competent authority while fixing the pay structure has not taken note of the fact that it commensurates with the qualification and job description. That the job performed by the petitioners as compared to the Computer Operators in the Forest Department is far more superior and specialized. Persons designated as Computer Analyst in the Administrative Secretariat of Forest Department are paid the salary in the pay scale of Rs. 2000 -3200 (pre -revised), which is not a uniform classification of posts in respect of parity and pay grades. The petitioners submitted that jobs attended to by them are similar to the jobs attended to by the persons designated by different names as Computer Assistant/Computer Operator/Data Entry Operator by the Government but there exist disparity in the pay structure and inaction on the part of the government in not adopting a uniform policy in this matter smacks of arbitrariness and is irrational, unjust and prejudicial to the petitioners. Even higher qualification of the petitioners has not been given proper weight -age while putting them in the pay scale. Petitioners, therefore, claim to be entitled to higher grade of Rs. 2000 -3200 (pre -revised) as is being paid to similarly placed persons in other departments of the government and, thus, seek a mandamus in directing the respondents to pay accordingly.