JUDGMENT

Mrs. Sujata V. Manohar, J.-"Equal pay for equal work for both men and women" is one of Directive Principles of State Policy laid down in Article 39(d) of the Constitution. Article 37 makes it non-justiciable. Yet it must be borne in mind by the legislature while making laws. In Randhir Singh v. Union of India and Ors1, this Court construed Articles 14 and 16 in the light of the preamble to the Constitution to read into their scheme the principle of equal pay for equal work. The principle has since been applied in cases of irrational discrimination in the pay-scales of workers doing the same or similar work in an organisation. It has not been applied when there is a basis or an explanation for the difference.

2. Historically, equal pay for work of equal value has been a slogan of the women s movement. Equal pay laws, therefore, usually deal with sex-based discrimination in the pay-scales of men and women doing the same or equal work in the same organisation. For example, the Equal Remuneration Act 1976 provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers and is meant to prevent discrimination on the ground of sex against women in the matter of employment. The E