The principle of equal pay for equal work has a limited application and cannot apply when qualifications and regular appointment procedures have not been followed.

( 1 ) THIS writ petition has been filed against the impugned order dated 15. 6. 1987 vide Annexure-1 to the writ petition.

( 2 ) HEARD learned counsel for the parties.

( 3 ) THE petitioner No. 3, Board of High School and Intermediate Education, U. P. , is a statutory body established under the U. P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921, as amended from time to time. Its Headquarter is at Allahabad. It is an examining body that holds Board of High School and Intermediate Examinations every year. As stated in paragraph 3 of the petition, these examinations are one of the biggest examinations conducted in the world. About 20 lacs students appear in the examinations conducted by the Board.

( 4 ) IT is alleged in para 4 of the petition that to take care of the handling of the examinations a large number of daily wage casual workers and labourers are engaged by the Board from time to time. These persons are engaged according to the exigencies of work in the office of the Board. These casual dally wage workers and labourers are employed at the rate prevailing from time to time, fixed by the Government. In the years 1975 to 1978 the workers were paid Rs. 5 per day, during the years 1979 to 1983 they were paid Rs. 7 per day, from 1983 to 1985 they were paid rs. 10 per day, from 24. 3. 1985 to 11. 12. 1985 at Rs. 15 per day.

( 5 ) IT is alleged in para 6 of the petition that the respondent Nos. 2 to 34, who were the petitioners before the U. P. Public Service Tribunal, were engaged along with other persons by the Board to discharge various manual duties and functions at its head office at Allahabad. It may be mentioned that the respondents were casual daily wage employees, and their services were never regularized nor were they ever absorbed in the cadre of the Boards Office. They were only doing manual work and were not engaged to do ministerial, clerical or official work as performed by the clerks or officials of the Board. They were merely assisting the clerks by carrying files, documents and papers. Some times they acted as messengers. Their job was not done independently. They were manual workers and labourers employed for specific purposes.

( 6 ) IT is alleged in para 8 of the petition that there was another category of nominal roll writers, which was only a nomenclature used for the sake of convenience. These nominal roll writers were in fact engaged to assist the Board Officials in reading and writing the documents, papers rolls, marks-sheets, etc. They were getting honoraria in the shape of daily conveyance allowance, but no regular pay scale was given to them. Thus, no regular pay scale was given to any of the respondents.

( 7 ) IN para 10 of the petition it is alleged that the respondents voluntarily and of their own freewill accepted this arrangement. There were no Service Rules in the Board by which the services of such persons could be regularized, and the respondents have no right to the posts. It is also stated that the posts of the regular establishment of the Board are filled in through direct recruitment after formal notification and formal selection by a selection committee. No such advertisement, publication or selection was held for appointing the respondents.

( 8 ) IN para 11 of the petition it is stated that the State Government vide Government order dated 14. 11. 1979, banned the recruitment of nominal roll writers vide Annexure-2. In para 12 it is stated that in the year 1972 the first Regional Office of the Board was established in Meerut, and thereafter Regional Offices were established at Varanasi and Bareilly in the years 1978 and 1981 respectively. In 1986, the State Government constituted a Task Force of an eight member committee which recommended establishment of another Regional Office at Allahabad, vide annexure-3 to the petition. Since there were four Regional Offices, the work load at the Head office, Allahabad, decreased due to the decentralization of the work load. As no work was left for