JUDGMENT :-

S. Vaidyanathan, & Rvijayakumar, JJ.

(Prayer: Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of Letters Patent, to set aside the order, dated 16.10.2019 made in W.P.No.29547 of 2019 and allow this writ appeal.)

The respondents in the writ petitions are the appellants herein.

2. The Government of Tamil Nadu issued G.O.Ms.No.400 Home (Police XV) Department dated 07.06.2012 sanctioning 558 additional posts of Sweepers in the Police Department. As per the said G.O., a special time scale of pay of Rs.1300-3000+ Grade Pay of Rs.300/- would be paid to the appointed Sweepers. Further, it was stated that the 558 additional posts are sanctioned by surrendering the existing 219 regular posts of Sweepers in the Police Department. Pursuant to the said Government Order, the writ petitioners were appointed in the special time scale of pay. The appointment order of the writ petitioners clearly indicated that their appointments are purely temporary until the same is regularised by the Government. The writ petitioners were issued the order of regularization on various dates and granted regularization from the date of their original appointments. The probation period was also declared by the District Level Authorities on various dates.

3. In the Education Department, the Scavengers were appointed under a special time scale of Rs.1300-3000+ Grade Pay of Rs.300/- based on G.O.(Ms).No.47, School Education (R.1) Department, dated 02.03.2012. The Scavengers challenged the offending portion of the Government Order that fixed a special time scale of pay for them instead of regular time scale of pay ie. Rs.4800-10,000/- + Grade Pay of Rs.1300/-. This writ petition was numbered as W.P.(MD)No.17663 of 2014 and the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court allowed the writ petition by striking down the offending clause in the said G.O as un-sustainable. The learned Single Judge directed to place the Scavengers on par with other Scavengers already working in the Education Department by paying regular time scale of pay of Rs.4800-10000/-+ Grade Pay of Rs.1300/-. This order of the learned Single Judge was challenged in W.A.(MD).No.1584 of 2018. The Hon'ble Division Bench relied upon the Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court reported in 2017 (1) SCC 148 (in the case of State of Punjab and others Vs. Jagjit Singh and others) and 2018 (14) Scale 765 (in the case of Sabha Shanker Dube Vs. Divisional Forest Officer and others) and dismissed the writ appeal on the ground that the payment of different time scale of pay for similar work, violates the principle of 'Equal Pay for Equal work'. This order of the Division Bench was implemented by the Education Department by issuing G.O(Ms).No.50, dated 08.03.2019.

4. Taking Precedent from the order of the Division Bench and implementation of the same by the Education Department, the writ petitioners who are working as Sweepers in the Police Department sent representations to the appellants herein requesting them to be treated on par with Scavengers in the Education Department. The writ petitioners further requested that their time scale of pay may be fixed on par with Scavengers in the Education Department. Since the said request was not responded, the writ petitioners filed the present batch of writ petitions.

5. The writ petitioners contended that G.O.Ms.No.400 Home (Police XV) Department, dated 07.06.2012 is in violation of Article 14 and 39 of the Constitution of India. They further contended that they fall within the category of Clause-D employees and there cannot be any discrimination between the Scavengers in one department and the Scavengers in other departments. They further contended that the Sweepers and Scavengers fall within Clause-IV of Tamil Nadu Basic Service Rules and hence, there cannot be any differential time scale of pay between the same Clause of employees. The writ petitioners further contended that the Scavengers working in the Education Department are similarly placed persons. The duties and responsibilities are