( 1 ) THERE are ten petitioners. The first petitioner is The college Section Officers Association (University of Delhi ). Petitioner No. 2 is Delhi University Section Officers Association. Petitioner No. 3 is Delhi University and College Karamchari Union. Petitioner No. 4 is a Section Officer in College of Vocational Studies. Petitioner No. 5 is a Section Officer in Dayal Singh College, Delhi. These two Colleges are maintained by the University of Delhi with the granting aid from the University Grants Commission. Petitioners 6 to 10 are Section Officers in the University of Delhi. The petitioners had been garnted the pay scale of Rs. 650-1200 w. e. f. 19. 2. 1993. But in the writ petitioner, the petitioners claim that this should have been given w. e. f. 1. 1. 1973.

( 2 ) IN a nutshell, the case of the petitioners is that the Section Officers in the Colleges and the University are equal to the Section Officers in the University Grants Commission and the Union of India. The Section Officers in the Union of the India and the University Grants Commission have been given the pay sacle of Rs. 650-1200 w. e. f. 1. 1. 1973 and therefore, the Section Officers in the Colleges and the University of Delhi should also be given the same pay scale w. e. f. 1. 1. 1973.

( 3 ) IN view of the nature of the controversy, it is necessary to set out the facts in some detail.

( 4 ) THE petitioners have given the list of Section Officers working in Colleges in Annexure a . In Annexure b , the list of Section Officers functioning in the University of Delhi is given. The petitioners have stated in paragraph 4 of the writ petition:

"that the grievance of the petitioners in the present writ petition is that though they have been performing the same duties as Section Officers as are being performed by the Section Officers of the Government of India or of the University Grants Commission, yet while Section Officers of the Government of India and/or University Grants Commission have been getting the scale of. Rs. 650-30-740-35-810-EB-35-880-40-1000-EB-40-1200 with effect from 1. 1. 1973 as per Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1973 promulgated on the basis of the recommendations of the Third Central Pay Commission, the petitioners herein have been given the said scale only with effect from 19. 2. 1983. "

( 5 ) IT is stated that from the year 1978, the present Section Officers were given this designation while they were previously designated as Superintendent and it is stated by the petitioners that the Executive Council of the University had recommended to maintain the parity between the Section Officers in the University Grants Commissions and the colleges.

( 6 ) IT is stated in paragraph 6 of the writ petition :-

"that it would be interesting to note that though, on one hand, the scale of Rs. 650-1200 which was given to the petitioners with effect from 19. 2. 83 was on the express ground of removing disparity in the matter of pay scales and promotional avenues between the Section Officers of the University of Delhi/ various Colleges on one hand and Section Officers of the Government of India/university Grants Commission on the other hand, yet the respondents have evidently ignored that disparity which existed during the period from 1. 1. 1973 to 18. 2. 1983 has not been removed for the said period and this has been in spite of the fact that the petitioners have been representing their case right from 1973 and even from a time prior to that and that the University of Delhi through its Executive Council, as already stated above, had taken the decision in favour of the petitioners as far back as 1973 and the delay of the said period of about 10 years has been wholly and solely on the part of the authorities concerned. In humble submission of the petitioners, the impugned act of the respondents in not giving the scale of Rs. 650-1200 from 1. 1. 1973 has, thus, been wholly arbitrary and hence violative of not only Articles 14 and