Sudhir Agarwal, J.

All the petitioners are appointed and working as Secretaries Grade-Ill, class II in various marketing committees of U.P. Rajya Krishi Utpadan Mandi Paishad and have approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking writ of mandamus directing the respondents to give parity in employment in the matter of pay to the petitioners like other Secretaries of U.P. Krishi Utpadan Mandi Paishad (herein after referred as "Parishad"), Regulation 4 of U.P. Agricultural Products Market Committee (Centralized ) Services Regulation, 1884(in short-Regulation, 1984) has been sought to be declared ultravires and further a mandamus has been sought to enforce equal pay for equal work as enshrined under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India in the matter of petitioners.

2. In brief the petitioners' case is that all of them are working as Secretaries Grade III class II in various Mandi Samitis in the pay scale of Rs. 1640-2900. They further claim that all the Secretaries in various Mandi Samitis are discharging similar and identical duties and there is no difference in work, performance, duty, liability, qualification or otherwise of the various secretaries yet arbitrarily the administration by placing the secretaries of Mandi Samitis in different pay scale and grades has acted illegally. It is also submitted that the posts are interchangeable irrespective of business of Mandi Samitis' quantum of work etc. Any secretary can work in the Mandi Samiti of any grade or class as well as they can also work in any of the Mandi Samitis at different places. The secretaries in different grades have no co-relation with the work, they are required to perform and the classification is illusory, irrational and infringes the principle of equal pay for equal work as guaranteed under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

3. It is further submitted that a similar dispute arose before this Court in Writ petition No. 30319 of 2001 Shahjade v. Chairman, Rajya Krishi Utpadan Mandi Paishad and Ors. and a Division Bench of this Court vide its judgment dated 23.4.2002 held the aforesaid classification of the secretaries of different cadre being irrational, arbitrary and discriminatory and accordingly allowed the writ petition directing for higher pay scale to the petitioner in the aforesaid case w.e.f. 1.1.86. It is stated that the respondents filed review petition No. 104056 of 2002 which was also dismissed by this Court vide order dated 23.5.2003, against which an SLP was filed in the Apex Court which is still pending.

4. A counter affidavit has been filed by the respondents wherein the provisions pertaining to statute have not been disputed. It is however stated with reference to various provisions of Regulations, 1984 that since the mode of recruitment, selection, qualification, experience etc. of secretaries of various grades is different, it cannot be said that all the secretaries can be placed in higher pay scale i.e. Rs.3000-4500 which is payable to Secretaries Class I. However, it is not disputed that although the power and duties of the Secretaries have been defined in Section 24 which are general, but in practice the working of different Mandi Samiti is also different. Duties and responsibilities in bigger Mandis are more strenuous than that of smaller Mandis due to quantum of arrival of agricultural produce. It is said that number of staff in big Mandi is much higher considering the magnitude of transaction of bigger Mandi. The staff of bigger Mandi needs to be more experienced. It is also sated that the Board has determined the sanctioned strength of all the classes of the Secretaries. The sanctioned strength of the secretaries in different grades is as follows :

Secretaries Class I	6
Secretaries Class II	24
Secretaries Class III	Grade I	54
	Grade II	8