2004 (12) TMI 691 - SC - Indian Laws

Application of the principle of 'equal pay for equal work' - Recruitment of Amins under the Land Records and Surveyors, Directorate, Government of West Bengal - Notification No.5472-F issued for different scales of pay, prescribed for Surveyors and Amins working in different Departments under Government of West Bengal - Whether the Amins and Surveyors discharge the same duties or not -Whether the Amins are entitled to the same pay scale i.e. Scale No.9 of Surveyors - HELD THAT - The Surveyors are fully qualified in the engineering surveys whereas the Amins are not supposed to be so qualified. Therefore, looking to the nature of duties which is being discharged and the instructions which have been issued go to show that the Amins and Surveyors are not discharging identical duties. Therefore, from the nature of duties and the qualifications required for both the posts, it is absolutely clear that they are separate and it is not wrong when it was submitted that the work of Amins starts after the work of Surveyors ends. The Technical Rules and Instructions of the Settlement Department as mentioned above, clearly show that the work and duties which are being discharged by the Surveyors are of technical nature by use of sophisticated instruments as against the Amins who do the job with the aid of relatively simple equipment as they are not equated with that of the Surveyors. The qualifications prescribed for the Surveyors and Amins are also different. The Surveyor is supposed to be a technically trained person and as against this, the Amin need not be. The Amins have to undergo related course of a duration of six months or so, as against the Surveyors' two years certificate course. Therefore, from the survey of this discussion we are of opinion that the Surveyors stand on superior footing than that of the Amins and they cannot be equated from the functional point of view as well as qualification point of view. Therefore, we are of opinion that the view taken by the Division Bench of the High Court that the Amins cannot be equated with the Surveyors is correct. While the work and duties performed by the Amins and Surveyors are not identical, there is no question of giving them the equal pay for the equal work. The principle of 'equal pay for equal work' depends upon the nature of duties performed by a particular category of posts and the qualifications for their recruitment. From the above discussion, it is clear that neither the duties nor functions are identical nor the recruitment for the posts of Amins and Surveyors is identical as the qualification for recruitment for both the posts is different. In the present case, there are categorical finding that both the categories of posts discharge different functions and duties and there is no question of granting equal pay on the principle of 'equal pay for equal work.' Once it is held that the Amins perform different duties and different functions then how can we go back and say that because the qualification of the Surveyors is school final pass or Madhyamik with practical experience, they are given pay scale No.7, similar pay scale No.7 be given to Amins as they are also required to have same qualification is not correct. It appears that it was not brought to the notice of the Division Bench of the High Court that for three categories of Surveyors i.e. persons having certificate from Survey School, School Final with Practical experience and with practical experience only no recruitment has been made since 1981. While dealing with the comparative pay scales of Amins and Surveyors as reproduced above since independence there is note given below that recruitment with this qualification has been abandoned since 1981. It appears this fact was not brought to the notice of the Division Bench of the High Court. The attention of the Division Bench was not invited to this note. In fact recruitment to the posts of Surveyors with these qualifications has already been stopped since 1981. As such the Division Bench while dealing with the Amins with these qualifications has granted the pay scale No.7 which, in our opinion appears to be totally incorrect appreciation of fact. The order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court directing the State Government to grant the Amins the minimum pay scale of No.7 does not appear to be justified and accordingly, we allow the State appeal and set aside the direction given by the Division Bench of the High Court granting the Amins the pay scale No.7. Thus, we allow the appeal preferred by the State of West Bengal and the direction given by the Division Bench of the High Court granting pay scale No.7 to the Amins is set aside. We dismiss all the appeals filed by the private appellants but direct that the benefits which have been accrued to the Amins of all those 36 writ petitions, no recovery shall be made till the date of this judgment and all these Amins should be given the pay scale Nos.6,7, 8 as per the qualifications and their pay shall be fixed at the appropriate stage in these pay scales and they will be entitled to further career advancement scheme. There will be no order as to costs.

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Whether the Amins and Surveyors discharge the same duties or not.
2. Whether the Amins are entitled to the same pay scale i.e., Scale No.9 of Surveyors.
3. What is the effect of various decisions of the High Court of Calcutta passed from time to time in favor of the Amins treating them equivalent to that of Surveyors and allowing them pay scale No.9.

Judgment Summary:

Issue 1: Whether the Amins and Surveyors discharge the same duties or not.
The Court examined the nature of duties and qualifications of both Amins and Surveyors. It was found that Surveyors use more sophisticated equipment and possess higher qualifications, such as a diploma from Industrial Training Institutes, compared to Amins who use simpler tools and have lower qualifications. The Court concluded that "the nature of duties of Surveyors and Amins are absolutely distinct and separate," and therefore, they cannot be treated as discharging the same duties.

Issue 2: Whether the Amins are entitled to the same pay scale i.e., Scale No.9 of Surveyors.
The Court referred to the principle of "equal pay for equal work" and determined that since Amins and Surveyors do not perform the same duties and have different qualifications, Amins are not entitled to the same pay scale as Surveyors. The Court observed that "the post of Amin is different from that of the Surveyor as the Amins do not discharge the same duties as that of the Surveyors and as such they are not entitled to claim equal pay for equal work."

Issue 3: What is the effect of various decisions of the High Court of Calcutta passed from time to time in favor of the Amins treating them equivalent to that of Surveyors and allowing them pay scale No.9.
The Court noted that several decisions by the High Court of Calcutta were passed without proper affidavits from the State and were based on a single communication from the Deputy Commissioner, Jalpaiguri. These decisions were deemed per inquiriam. The Court highlighted that "the decisions in all these 36 cases emanating from the decision rendered in Md. Anwarul Haque & Abdul Bari has created the confusion." The Court decided to invoke its inherent power under Article 142 of the Constitution to rectify the situation, directing that Amins be given pay scale No.6 with no recovery of excess payments made prior to the date of this judgment.

Final Directions:
The Court allowed the appeal by the State of West Bengal, setting aside the direction of the High Court granting pay scale No.7 to the Amins. It dismissed the appeals filed by the private appellants but directed that no recovery shall be made from the Amins in the 36 writ petitions for the period prior to the date of this judgment. The Amins were to be given pay scales Nos.6, 7, & 8 as per their qualifications, with their pay fixed at the appropriate stage in these pay scales and entitlement to further career advancement schemes.