Judgment

VENKATARAMIAH, J:- The petitioners in these petitions, 80 in number, are employees of the Central Government working in the Central Bureau of Investigation. Some of them are holding the posts of Sub-Inspectors, some are Inspectors and the remaining are the Deputy Superintendents of Police in the Central Investigating Units of the Central Bureau of Investigation. There are two classes of officials amongst those who are holding the posts of Sub-Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police. The first class of those officials to which the petitioners belong consists of those who have been recruited directly to the Central Bureau of Investigation. They are hereinafter referred to as non-deputationists. The other class of officials in those cadres consists of those who have been drawn from various State cadres. They are hereinafter referred to as deputationists.

2. In this case the dispute relates to the discrimination that has been brought about by the Central Government regarding the Special Pay payable to the two groups of officers, namely, deputationists and non-deputationists. While a Deputy Superintendent of police who belongs to the category of deputationists is getting Rs. 150/-per month by way of Special Pay, a Deputy Superintendent of Police who is a non-deputationist gets Rs. 100/- per month as Special Pay. Similarly while an Inspector belonging to the former category gets Rs. 125/- per month as Special Pay, an Inspector belonging to the latter category gets Rs. 75/- per month as Special Pay and while a Sub-Inspector belonging to the former category gets Rs. 100/- per month by way of Special Pay, a Sub-Inspector belonging to the latter category gets Rs. 50/- per month. The petitioners, who are non-deputationists, claim that they should also be paid the same Special Pay which the deputationists are getting with effect from the date on which the deputationists commenced to draw the Special Pay at higher rates.

3. The two groups of officers, referred to above are all working in the 14 Branches of the Central Bureau of Investigation which are called Central Investigating Units. It is not disputed that the two sets of officers, namely, the non-deputationists and the deputationists in the ranks of Sub-Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police discharge the same functions, duties and responsibilities in the various Central Investigating Units. They have to travel to different places for purposes of investigation into the several cases entrusted to them. The Special Pay that is being paid to the deputationists is in addition to the Deputation Allowance paid them which is not Admissible to the non-deputationists. The Deputation Allowance is paid to the deputationists as compensation for the temporary displacement from their parent cadres occasioned by their deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. At present a Deputy Superintendent of Police who is on deputation gets Rs. 150/- per month as Deputation Allowance, an Inspector who is on deputation gets Rs. 150/- per month as Deputation Allowance and a Sub-Inspector who is on deputation gets Rs. 100/- per month as Deputation Allowance. It is also alleged that in the non Central Investigating Units of the Central Bureau of Investigation the rates of Special Pay paid to the officers working in the three cadres of Sub-Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police are the same both in the case of deputationists and non-deputationists, but in the case of Central Investigating Units, however, to which the petitioners belong the deputationists in all the three ranks get Special Pay at higher rates as stated above. It would also appear that between June, 1976 and August, 1979 the Deputy Superintendents of Police belonging to the category of non-deputationists were totally denied the Special pay of Rs. 150/- per month which was being given to the Deputy Superintendents of Police who are on deputation. It is contended by the petit