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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad)
DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, M.R. SHAH, JJ.
Rajesh Pravinchandra Rajyaguru - Appellant
Versus
Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board and Ors. - Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 7578 of 2021
With
Radhakrishnan Ayyappan Ezhuva & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage & Ors. - Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 7579 of 2021
Decided On : 17-12-2021
(A) Service Law – Pay Scale – Equation of posts and salary is a complex matter which should be left to expert body and undertakings and court cannot interfere lightly – Granting of pay parity by court may result in a cascading effect having adverse consequences – There are limitations or qualifications to applicability of doctrine of ‘equal pay for equal work’ – Economic viability or financial capacity of employer is an important factor while fixing wage structure, otherwise unit itself may not be able to function and may have to close down inevitably and have disastrous consequences for employees themselves – Employees cannot legitimately claim that their pay-scales should necessarily be revised and/or they must be granted certain additional benefits/benefits. (Paras 13.3 and 13.4)
(B) Service Law – Pay Scale – Board which is an autonomous and statutory body created under the Act never adopted Government Resolutions dated 01.05.1991 and 15.02.1992 and unless said Resolutions are adopted by Respondent-Board, daily rated employees working with Respondent-Board shall not be entitled to benefits flowing from subsequent resolutions – There shall not be automatic adoption and/or applicability of subsequent resolutions – Under the circumstances as rightly held by Division Bench, daily rated employees of Respondent-Board cannot claim benefits from Resolutions of 1991 and 1992 as a matter of right – Even being daily rated employees working with Respondent-Board they cannot claim the parity with employees of State Government – Being daily rated employees of Respondent-Board, they cannot claim as of right similar treatment as Government employees – Respondent-Board is an independent entity and it might have its own financial capacity and therefore its employees cannot claim parity with employees of State Government – They cannot invoke Article 14 of Constitution to claim benefit on the ground of parity if they otherwise are not entitled to such benefit – It cannot be said that Division Bench of High Court has committed grave error in allowing Letters Patent Appeals and quashing and setting aside judgment and orders passed by High Court – Appeals dismissed. (Paras 13.2,13.3, 13.5, 13.6, 15, 17 and 18)
(C) Constitution of India – Article 14 – Right to equality – Article 14 of Constitution embodies concept of positive equality alone and not negative equality – It cannot be relied upon to perpetuate illegality and irregularity – In a case of appointments or pay-scales, Article 14 of Constitution does not envisage negative equality and if State has committed mistake, it cannot be forced to perpetuate same mistake. (Paras 15 and 51.1)
Facts of the case:
Short question which is posed for consideration before this Court is whether the original writ petitioners – daily rated employees working with the Respondent -Board are entitled to the benefits flowing from subsequent Resolutions dated 01.05.1991 and 15.02.1992? Another question which is posed for consideration before this Court is whether the principle of negative equality shall be applicable in a case where the other employees were wrongly granted benefits and/or the employees who are claiming the parity shall have to establish their rights independently to get the particular benefits?
Findings of Court:
In present case a conscious decision has been taken by the Board not to adopt the Government Resolutions dated 01.05.1991 and 15.02.1992. Even the State Government has refused to extend the benefits under the Government Resolutions of 1991 and 1992. The Board has taken a conscious decision considering the additional financial burden on the Board if the benefits under the Government Resolutions of 1991 and 1992 are allowed.
Result : Appeal dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
M.R. Shah, J.
1. As common question of law and facts arise in these two appeals both these appeals are decided and disposed of together.
2. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Letters Patent Appeal No.82 of 2020 by which the High Court has allowed the said appeal preferred by Respondent no.1 herein – Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Board’) and has quashed and set aside the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge passed in Special Civil Application No.16470 of 2018 by which the learned Single Judge allowed the said writ petition preferred by the appellants herein and held that the appellants herein – original respondents are entitled to the pay scale of Rs.950-1500 with all consequential benefits upon completion of 10 years of service and revised their pay scale as per 5th, 6th and 7th Pay Commission scales on such basis, the original writ petitioners have preferred the present appeal.
3. In another Letters Patent Appeal No.179 of 2020, the Division Bench of the High Court has just followed its decision in Letters Patent Appeal No.82 of 2020 which is the subject matter of another appeal. Therefore, for the sake of convenience the facts in Civil Appeal No. 7578 of 2021 arising out of the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court in Letters Appeal No.82 of 2020 are narrated and considered and the said appeal be treated as a lead appeal.
4. That the Respondent – Board has been formed under the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) for rapid development and proper regulation of the water supply and sewerage activities in the State of Gujarat. Till the Board frames its own Rules and Regulations, the Board had, for better administration, decided through a Resolution dated 06.08.1980 to follow the Rules, Regulations, Circulars, Policies, Instructions and all Schemes of the State Government from the date of formation of the Board. It appears that there were many daily wagers working under various departments of the State Government for past several years. With a view to resolve the issue relating to service condition of daily wagers engaged in maintenance and repairing work a committee called ‘Shri Daulatbhai Parmar Committee’ was constituted under the Chairmanship of the then Minister of Roads and Building Department – Shri Daulatbhai Parmar. On the basis of the recommendations made by the Committee, Government of Gujarat passed a Resolution dated 17.10.1988 wherein the Government and decided to give certain benefits to the skilled daily wager workmen depending upon the period of services undergone, i.e. less than 5, 5 or more or 10 years.
4.1 As per scheme contained in Resolution dated 17.10.1988 all the daily wage workers were not entitled for regularization or permanency in the services. As per the said Resolution the daily wagers are entitled to the following benefits:
(ii) Daily wagers and semi-skilled workers who has service of more than five years and less than 10 years are entitled for fixed monthly salary along with dearness allowance as per prevailing standard, for his working days. Such daily wagers will get two optional leave in addition to 14 misc. leave, Sunday leave and national festival holidays. Such daily wagers will also be eligible for getting medical allowance and deduction of provident fund.
(iii) Daily wagers and semi-skilled workers who has service of more than ten years but less than 15 years are entitled to get minimum pay scale at par with skilled worker along with dearness allowan
(1) Pay Scale – Employees of Government departments and employees of Board as such stand on different footings. Employees of Board cannot claim parity with that of Government employees.(2) In a case ....
Principles of law highlighted, render inaction on part of respondent authorities (a) in not extending benefits of 6th Pay Commission to petitioners; (b) in not merging 50% Dearness Allowance in basic....
Point of law: The appointment as daily wagers at the grass root level are without following any regular procedure laid down for regular recruitment and therefore they do not have any right of regular....
The Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 applies to all departments in the State of Gujarat, and the concerned respondent authority is directed to pay all consequential benefits to the petitioner w....
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the adoption of a government resolution by an employer obligates the employer to grant the benefits to the employees as per the resolution, an....
Daily wage workers with over five years of service are entitled to benefits under the government resolution, irrespective of the 240 days work requirement.
The court reaffirmed the principle that equally situated persons should be treated equally in consonance with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
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