Employees engaged under contract terms, performing duties similar to regular government employees, are entitled to benefits under the same pay scales as regular employees, reinforcing the principle of 'equal pay for equal work'.

Judgment :

S. Chandrashekhar, J :

1. In this writ petition, thirteen retrenched employees of the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation who were appointed in the Government Department on contract basis are seeking the benefits of revised pay scales under the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scales) Rules, 1998 and other service-linked benefits. For claiming such benefits, they have challenged the conditions under clause 7 and clause 10 under the Circular dated 24^th December 1994 on the ground that such conditions are in breach of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The petitioners have prayed that :-

“i by an appropriate writ, order or direction, the respondents may be directed to pay increments to the petitioners from the date of their appointment with all consequential benefits.

ii by an appropriate writ, order or direction, the respondents may be directed revise the pay scale of the petitioners under the provisions of Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scale) Rules, 1998 with all consequential benefits.

iii By an appropriate writ, order or direction, the Rule 2(ii)(c) of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay Scales) Rules, 1998 and Clause 7 and 10 of the circular dated 24.12.1994 (Annex.1) be declared illegal and be struck down and it may be declared that employees appointed on contract basis are entitled to get benefit of revision of pay scales and other benefits of as are admissible to regular government employees with all consequential benefits.

iv By an appropriate writ, order or direction, the respondents may be directed to grant benefit of GPF and State Insurance to the petitioners.

v by an appropriate writ, order or direction, the undertaking obtained by the respondents be declared unconscionable as being opposed to public policy.

vi Any other appropriate writ, order or direction which may be considered just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case, may kindly be passed in favour of the petitioners.

vii Costs of the writ petition may kindly be awarded to the petitioner.”

2. The petitioners were employed under the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation as Machine Operators and posted at the unit of the Corporation at Churu. They were confirmed in service on different dates between 05^th February 1976 (Dalam Chand Soni) to 01^st April 1983 (Keshar Dev Saini and Bal Kishan Sharma). Other petitioners were confirmed in service in the year 1977, except Mohan Lal Soni who was confirmed in service with effect from 29^th September 1980. In course of time, the Corporation’s unit at Churu suffered the order of closure of the mill and the petitioners were retrenched from service on 30^th November 1994. Soon thereafter, the guidelines for engagement of the retrenched employees of Public Sector Undertakings on contract were issued on 24^th December 1994 by the Department of Personnel, Government of Rajasthan. Such guidelines were issued by the Government of Rajasthan pursuant to the decision of the State Bureau of Public Enterprises Department that the retrenched employees of Public Sector Undertakings may be engaged as far as possible in State Government Departments on contract basis. In pursuance thereof, the petitioners were appointed on contract basis under Health Department in the district of Churu by an Office Order dated 22^nd April 1995 issued under the signature of the Chief Medical and Health Officer at Ratangarh, Churu and were posted at different places as indicated in the Office Order dated 28^th April 1995. The petitioners have produced a copy of the Office Order dated 26^th May 1995 which reveals that Jagdish Prasad Deora, Satya Narain Soni, Dalamchand