Virat Saroop And Others v. State Of Punjab And Another





  
     




  

 

     

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he petitioners were recruited to the posts of Junior Engineers, Junior Draftsman, Sub Division Engineers, Clerks, Booking Clerk (Patwari) etc under the Punjab Water Resources Management & Development Corporation and the service conditions

 

for the posts of the petitioners are governed by statutory rules framed under Article 80(XVI) of the Association of Punjab State Tubewell Corporation Employees Service Bye Laws, 1977 (now PWRM&DC Employees Service Bye Laws). Under the said statutory rules, the pay scales for the posts are mentioned as per 4th Punjab Pay Commission and presently, the Corporation employees are getting pay scales as notified by the Punjab Government as per recommendation of the 5th Punjab Pay Commission. Further, the Finance Department has issued an instruction dated 17.07.2020 to all the departments of the State of Punjab, wherein, it was mentioned that the pay scales applicable to all prospective recruitments in the departments of the Punjab Government, shall be notified as per recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission.

Further, the notification dated 29.10.2020 has been issued by the Department of Finance based on the revised pay scales granted to different categories of employees w.e.f. 01.01.2006, the pay scales for the posts are mentioned as minimum pay admissible as per instructions dated 17.07.2020 by considering the scales as per 5th Punjab Pay Commission as on 01.01.2006 contrary to the bye laws 1977. However, till date, the bye laws, 1977, as applicable to the petitioners have not been amended, meaning thereby, that the instructions dated 17.07.2020 and notification dated 29.10.2020 are in conflict with the statutory rules.

It is further alleged that the petitioners after joining, discovered that some of the employees working on the same posts as that of the petitioners in the same department are getting higher pay, whereas, the petitioners are getting almost half salary as per Central Pay Scale. The difference is very huge for employees like petitioners recruited after 17.07.2020 who are performing same work and same nature of duties.

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'Equal Pay for Equal Work' which forms an essential facet of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Further, the petitioners are governed under the Punjab State Tubewell Corporation Employees Service Bye Laws, 1977 (Annexure P2) and under the said Rules, the scale for the posts are prescribed as per 4th Punjab Pay Commission and employees are getting pay scale as per 5th Punjab Pay Commission. By relying upon the executive decision dated 17.07.2020 (Annexure P-3) and instructions dated 29.10.2020 & 18.12.2020 (Annexures P4 & P-5, respectively), the petitioners were granted pay scale as per 7th CPC, which has caused huge anomaly between the salary of the petitioners and other employees on the same post who were also recruited prior to 17.07.2020. 3.

Learned counsel for the petitioners inter alia contends that the statutory Punjab State Tubewell Corporation Employees Service Bye-Laws, 1977, which govern their service conditions and prescribe pay scales as per the 4th/5th Punjab Pay Commission, have not been amended till date. The respondents, however, have unlawfully applied the executive instructions dated 17.07.2020 and notifications dated 29.10.2020 and 18.12.2020, whereby, pay scales as per the 7th Central Pay Commission have been made applicable to new recruits, in clear violation of the statutory Bye-Laws. ( &'

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