JUDGMENT

RAY, J. :— The petitioners who are employed in various categories of trades such as carpenter, masson, painter, upholster, plumber, pipefitter, sawyer and sign writer under skilled grade in Military Engineering Services under the Ministry of Defence commonly known as M.E.S. have assailed in this writ petition the upgradation of some of the trades out of the 15 trades in the skilled grade on the basis of the recommendations made by the Expert Committee constituted by Respondent No. 1 on the grounds inter alia that the fixation of higher scales of pay of some of these trades out of the 15 trades in the skilled grade ignoring the other trades is arbitrary, discriminatory and in contravention of the fundamental rights of the petitioners enshrined in Articles 14 and 16 as well as in Article 39(d) of the Constitution of India in as much as it purports to violate the right of equal pay for equal work.

2. The petitioners along with other employees in different trades within the skilled grade used to get same scales of pay in the skilled grade continuosly for years together since the recommendations of the first Pay Commission in 1949. All the employees of the trades in skilled grad