JUDGMENT

SINGH, J.:— This is a petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India, filed by the petitioner Union on behalf of the employees of the Grih Kalyan Kendra for a declaration that the Grih Kalyan Kendra wherein the workers are employed is State within the meaning of Art. 12 of the Constitution and for the issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the Union of India and the respondents to pay regular pay scales in parity with other employees performing similar work under the Union of India like New Delhi Municipal Committee and other Departments of Delhi Administration.

2. Grih Kalyan Kendra is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Its objectives as set out in the Memorandum of Association are as follows:

"a) To promote social, economic, cultural and educational activities for the betterment of the Central Government employees and their families;

b) To impart technical. and vocational training in home crafts and other household arts for useful utilisation of leisure time; and

c) To organise and promote economic activities that may provide opportunities for gainful employment to families of Central Government employees for supplementing family incomes"

For attaining the aforesaid objectives, the Kendra has been conducting various activities including: (i) holding of craft classes for training in cutting, tailoring and embroidering for the house-wives and grown-up girls during their leisure hours; (ii).imparting nursery education for children in the age group of 3 to.7 years; (iii) running of creches or day-care centres for children between the age of 90 days and 7 years; (iv) providing the recreational facilities like T.V. shows, libraries, gymnasia and in-door games and sports at the Samaj Sadans (Community Halls); (v) conducting stiching of liveries for Class III (Group C) and Class IV (Group D) employees of Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings. The Kendra runs 29 nursery centres, out of which 21 are in Delhi, 3 in Dehradun and one each at Faridabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Bombay and Madras. It also runs 43 craft centres, out of which 23 are in Delhi 5 in Bombay, 8 in Madras, 2 in Dehradun and one each at Jaipur, Nagpur, Faridabad, Narela and Bahadurgarh. The Kendra also runs 19 centres for day-care called creches out of which 16 are in Delhi and one each at Faridabad, Madras and Jaipur. The Kendra conducts two production centres, one located at Delhi and the other at Madras. In these centres stitching of liveries for Class III and Class IV employees of Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings are undertaken with a view to provide gainful employment for dependent lady members of the Government servants.

3. The Grih Kalyan Kendra is a welfare organisation working under the aegis of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Ministry of Home Affairs. The purpose and object of establishing the Kendras were to help needy Government servants especially those belonging to the lower income group by providing to their dependents opportunity of gainful work or training during their leisure time. The scheme stipulated to ensure that the dependents of such Government servants should be able to supplement to meagre income of the family and to acquire skill and experience for obtaining employment elsewhere. Initially, the employees of Kendra were paid honorarium only and at no time they had any regular scales of pay. Some of the employees who work at the Centres are paid on piece rate basis. The control and management of the Kendras vest in a Board which consist of officers of the Department of Personnel. The Union of India supplements the income of the Kendras by providing grants and monetary support. The employees of the Grih Kalyan Kendra fall in two broad categories; (i) regular staff taken on deputation from other Central Government offices who draw their salaries in regular scale of pay along with the deputation and other allowances as admissible to the Central Governme