New Delhi, Apr 07: In a major judgement, the Supreme
Court today said if a government fixed variable pay scales for employees working in the same post on the basis of different educational qualifications, it would not be a violation of right to equality guaranteed under the Constitution.
A bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice S B
Sinha and Justice S H Kapadia said, "Despite the fact that
employees have been performing similar duties and functions and their posts are interchangeable, a valid classification can be made on the basis of their educational qualification."
This ruling came from the bench, which dismissed the plea
of Madhya Pradesh rural agriculture extension officers
association challenging a decision of the state to prescribe
separate pay scales for graduates and non-graduates, though
both performed identical jobs.
The petitioners had alleged that despite the pay
commission recommending "equal pay for equal work" doctrine to the village agriculture extension officers, the state had gone ahead with its discriminating policy.
Upholding the government decision, Justice Sinha, writing for the bench, said "Article 14 (right to equality) forbids class legislation but permits reasonable classification subject to conditions that it is based on an intelligible differentia and that the differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved."
Bureau Report
