Judgment

SIKRI, C.J.I. :- In this petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution 17 petitioners complain that they had been discriminated against by the Govt. in violation of their fundamental rights under Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The relevant facts are these.

2. The petitioners are employed with the Forest Research Institute and Colleges, Dehra Dun. This Institute is a department of the Government of India, Ministry of Food and Agricultural. The petitioners are Research Assistants and fall within Class III of the Non-Gazetted Technical Posts. It is alleged that the qualifications prescribed for recruitment to the post of Research Assistant Grade II are Bachelor s Degree in Science (B.Sc.) and B. A. or B.Sc. with Mathematics and knowledge of statistics for computers.

3. On August 21, 1957 the Government of India set up a Commission of Enquiry, hereinafter referred to as the Second Pay Commission, to enquire into the emoluments and conditions of service of the Central Government employees. The terms of reference of the Commission were :

(i) examine the principles which should govern the structure of emoluments and conditions of service of the Central Government employees;

(ii) consider and recommend what changes in the structure of emoluments and conditions of service of different classes of Central Government employees are desirable and feasible....................;

(iii) recommend, in particular, the extent to which benefits to Central Government employees can be given in the shape of amenities and facilities;"

4. In Chapter II of the report, in para 1 it is stated :

"For the purposes of our enquiry we have taken all persons in the civil services of the Central Government or holding civil posts under that Government, and paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India, to be Central Government employees. Those in the service of public corporations and other semi-autonomous bodies under the Central Government are thus excluded; and employees of the Union Territories are included. In view, however, of certain practical difficulties to which we refer in a later chapter, and in consultation with the Government we have examined only the principles on which the emoluments of the employees of the Union Territories should be determined, and have not gone into details of pay scales."

5. The Second Pay Commission submditted its report on August 24, 1959. In Chapter XV the report deals with Scientific Staff. In Part II of the Chapter dealing with Class III employees in the Scientific Branch, the Commission compiled Table V which deals with 4329 posts. 59 persons having the scale from Rs. 80-220 were referred to in para 36. The Commission summed up its recommendations as follows :

Existing scale Proposed scale

(Rs.) (Rs.)

(i) 250-10-300-15-450-25/2-500 (i) 325-15-475-EB-20-575

(ii) 160-10-330 (ii) 210-10-290-15-320-EB-15-425

(iii) 100-5-120-8-200-10/2-220 (iii) 150-5-160-8-240-EB-8-280-10-300

80-5-120-8-200-10/2-220 (if 4 grades are retained)

100-5-120-8-200 or

160-8-256-EB-8-280-10-300

(if 3 grades are retained)

(iv) 60-4-120-5-150 (iv) 110-4-150-EB-4-170-5-189-EB-5-200

60-3-81-4-125-5-130

6. In para 39 the Commission dealt with the remaining 441 posts as follows :

"It should not be difficult to fit in the remaining 441 posts, which are on typical scales, on the scales recommended by us. Generall speaking scales carrying a maximum of Rupees 500/- may be repealed by scale (j) those with a maximum of Rs. 300 and above (except in the Department of Atomic Energy) by scale (ii), unless in the case of posts with a maximum of Rs. 400 or Rs. 450 (30 posts in all according to our information) the qualification for recruitment and the nature of duties are such that they can be more appropriately placed on scale (i); scales with a maximum of Rs. 200 or Rs. 250 by scale (iii) and those with a maximum of Rs. 150 and Rs. 130 by scale (iv). As regards the posts on the scale of Rs. 100-300 for which a university degree is not required, a suitable remuneration