Judgment

MUDHOLKAR, J. : Eleven clerical employees serving with the Corporation of Delhi have moved this Court under Art. 32 of the Constitution for quashing an order dated November 5, 1958 made by the Commissioner of the Corporation of Delhi and issuing a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction requiring the respondents to give effect to a resolution dated November 1/8, 1957 passed by the Executive and Finance Sub-Committee of the now defunct Municipal Committee of Delhi. The main ground on which the reliefs are claimed is that the action of the commissioner in making the order has resulted in discrimination against the petitioners.

2. In order to appreciate the point some facts have to be stated. Prior to the year 1948 the Municipal Committee recruited matriculates and non-matriculates as clerks in the junior grade of Rs.35-2-65-3-95. In order to attract better qualified persons they offered Rs. 45 as starting salary for graduates in this grade. Thereafter the Committee, by its resolution dated September 16, 1948, revised the grades and scales of pay for its entire staff on the basis of the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission appointed by the Government of India. By this resolution the Committee created two junior grades for recruitment of clearks, a grade of Rs. 55-3-85-4-125-5-130 for matriculates and the grade of Rs. 45-2-55-3-95-4-105 for non-matriculates.

3. According to the petitioners the Committee, in order to attract graduates and persons of higher academic qualifications and for giving an impetus to the clerical employees for pursuing higher studies, decided by the same resolution, inter alia, that graduates working in the junior grade would be paid a "graduate allowance" of Rs. 20 p. m. Further according to them, this was sanctioned by the Chief Commissioner, Delhi, by memo. No. F. 2 (102) 48-L. S. G. dated July 26/27, 1949.

4. It is common ground that by resolution No. 447 dated July 16, 1954 as amended by resolution No. 550 dated July 30, 1954 the Committee stopped payment of the graduate allowance to future recruits but continued its payment to such of the permanent and temporary employees in the junior grade who were already in receipt of the allowance. Thirty employees of the Committee made representations to the Committee against confining the payment of the allowance only to those persons who were already in receipt of it and demanded that this allowance should be paid to every employee who passed his B. A. examination after 1954 as well as to every graduate employee recruited after 1954. This representation succeeded and by resolution No. 693 datetd November 1, 1957 the Committee resolved that the system of payment of personal pay of Rs. 20 per mensem to all graduates in the junior grade revived and that the necessary sanction of the Chief Commissioner to this proposal be obtained. On November 8, 1957 the Committee amended the aforesaid resolution by resolution No. 701 and directed that the words "Necessary sanction of the Chief Commissioner be obtained" appearing at the end of the resolution be deleted. According to the petitioners, therefore, this resolution came into operation immediately and they became entitled to payment of Rs. 20, with retrospective effect .

5. Before this resolution could be implemented the Municipal Committee of Delhi was replaced by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi by the coming into force of the Delhi Corporation Act, 1957 (66 of 1957). The petitioners, therefore, approached the Commissioner of the Corporation and requested him to give effect to the resolution of November 1, 1957 as amendeded by the resolution dated November 8, 1957. By Office Order No. 1343 EST (58) dated November 5, 1958 the Commissioner admitted the claim for payment of graduate allowance to those graduate junior grade clerks of the erstwhile Delhi Municipal Committee who had been granted permission to pursue higher studies before July 30, 1954, but not to the remaining 18 person