SITA DEVI & ORS,ETC. versus STATE OF HARYANA & ORS
JT 1996 (7) 438	1996 SCALE (6)151
SITA DEVI & ORS,ETC. V. STATE OF HARYANA & ORS [1996] RD-SC 1015 (23 August 1996)
JEEVAN REDDY, B.P. (J) JEEVAN REDDY, B.P. (J) MANOHAR SUJATA V. (J)
CITATION: JT 1996 (7) 438	1996 SCALE (6)151
HEADNOTE:
B.P. JEEVAN REDDY, J.
WRIT PETITION (C) NO.584 OF 1989 In this writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of	India, three reliefs are asked for by as many as 748 petitioners. The reliefs sought for are:
"(a) Issue	writ in the nature of mandamus or any appropriate writ, order or	direction that the petitioners be treated to be in the service of the respondents from the date of their initial appointment irrespective be there	being artificial break in their services during the period.
(b) Issue	an appropriate writ, order or	direction to the respondents to put the petitioners on regular	pay scales to that of primary school teachers	in the Education	Department of	Haryana plus other consequential	benefits from the	date of their	initial appointment and further direct the respondents to pay the petitioners the difference in arrears of salary accrued to	them from the date of their initial appointment.
(c) Issue	by appropriate writ, order or	direction that the department of Audit Education and Non-formal Education is a permanent department of the	State	and the petitioners are regular teachers in the department appointed against sanctioned posts of Instructors." On the date of the filing of the writ petition (March 1989) the petitioners were working as	"under	matriculate instructors in	the Adult Literacy Programme" devised by the Government of Haryana. They were being paid	a lump	sum amount of Rs.200/- per month as salary. They had put in 5 to 6 years service and have been performing their duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. Their submission is that when matriculate instructors	approached this Court for similar reliefs, they were granted certain reliefs though not all the reliefs asked for	by them. The reference	is to	the judgment of this Court	in Jaipal and others	v. State of Haryana and other [A.I.R. 1988 S.C. 1504 = 1968 (3) S.C.C.
354] wherein this Court directed that the	"matriculate instructors are	entitled to the same	pay scale as that of the squad teachers, having regard to	the length of their service with effect from their date of initial appointment by ignoring the break in service on account of six months fresh appointments. It was further directed by this Court that the said petitioners will be entitled to the said pay scales in accordance with law notwithstanding the break in service that might have taken place.	The said directions were made effective with effect from	September 1, 1985.
However, the claim for regularization of their services put forward by the said petitioners was rejected, since the very project was likely to	last only till	1990.	The present petitioners' case is that though they are non- matriculates they too have been performing the very same duties as were being performed	by matriculate teachers (petitioners in Jaipal). The petitioners invoke the principle of 'equal pay for equal work'. According to them, except the difference in the matter of educational qualifications there is no other distinction between the post	held and the	duties	and functions performed by the petitioners in Jaipal and	the petitioners herein. They have	set out in the writ petition the several duties performed by them. Reliance is	also placed upon certain other decisions of this	Court viz., Randhir Singh v. Union	of India [1982 (3)	S.C.R.	298;
Dhirendra Chamoli v. State of U.P. [1986 (1) S.C.C. 637] and Surinder Singh	v. Engineer-in-Chief, CPWD [1986 (1) S.C.C.
639].
The doctrine of	'equal	work	for equal pay' is recognised by this Court as a facet of the equality clause contained in Article 14 of the Constitution. The first of the several decisions on the subject	is Randhir Singh v.
Union of India [1982 (1) S.C.C. 618]. The said doctrine has been dealt with by this Court	in several later decisions including State	of Madhya Pradesh and	Another v. Pramod Bhartiya and Others [1993 (1) S.C.C. 539] decided by a three -member Bench of which one of us (B.P.Jeevan Reddy, J.) was a member. This decision dealt mainly	with the manner in which the claim of equal work has to be judged. It was held, after referring to the definition of "same work or work of a similar nature"	in Section 2(h) of Equal Remuneration Act 1976, that:
"the stress is upon the similarity of skill, effort and responsibility when performed	under	similar conditions. Further, as pointed but by Mukharji, J. (as he then was) in Federation of All India Customs and Excise Stenographers [1988 (3) S.C.C. 91	: 1988 SCC (L&S) 673:(1988) 7 ATC 591] the quality of work may vary from post to post.
It may vary from	institution to institution. We cannot ignore or overlook this reality. It is not a matter of	assumption but	one of proof. It	must be	remembered that since the	plea of	equal	pay for equal work	has to be examined with reference to Article 14, the burden is	upon	the	petitioners to establish their right to equal pay, or the plea of discrimination, as the case may be." It was observed in the said decision, on the basis of the earlier decisions of this Court, that where	the petitioners complain of unlawful discrimination offending Article 14, it is for them to satisfy the Court that the distinction made is irrational	and baseless and that it really amounts to unlawful discrimination prohibited by Article 14. Applying the principle of the said decision to this case, can it be said that the petitioner herein who are non-matriculate instructors are similarly placed to that of the matriculate	instructors or	that the distinction	made between both the categories is irrational or baseless. In other words, the question is	whether	the Government of Haryana is guilty of unlawful discrimination in refusing to extend to non-matriculate instructors	the pay-scale which has been extended to matriculate instructors pursuant to the judgment of this Court	in Jaipal. We	do not think	on.
Classification on the basis of educational qualifications has always been upheld	by this Court	as reasonable	and permissible under Article 14.	In The	State of Mysore and another v. P. Narasinga Rao [A.I.R. 1968 S.C. 349],	the Government of Karnataka had prescribed two different scales for tracers - one for matriculate tracers with higher scale and another for non-matriculate tracers with lower	pay scale.	The	non-matriculate	tracers complained	of discrimination. The said plea	was negatived holding	that prescribing two	different scales for matriculates and non- matriculates is	not violative	of Article 14 and 16. It was held that distinction	made on the	basis of technical qualifications or for that matter even on the basis of general educational	qualifications	relevant to	the suitability of	the candidate for	public	service is permissible under the said articles. Indeed,	in that case both the matriculate and non-matriculate tracers formed one single category	with one single pay scale earlier. It was only at	a later stage that a distinction was made between matriculates and non-matriculates, which led to the	said proceedings. This Court proceeded on the assumption	that both matriculates and non-matriculate	tracers "were doing the same kind of work"; yet the classification made	was upheld as permissible under Articles	14 and	16 of	the Constitution. Distinction on	the basis of	educational qualifications has been upheld	as valid by this Court in a large number of cases since. By way of illustration, in State of Jammu and Kashmir v.	Triloki Nath Khosa [A.I.R.
1974 S.C. 1] the classification of Assistant Engineers as diploma	holders and degree holders	and providing	more promotional avenues to degree holders was upheld as reasonable. The	later decision	in P. Murugesan & Others v.
State of Tamil Nadu [1993 (2)	S.C.C. 340) is also to the same effect. In this decision, all the decisions on	the subject of classification on	the basis of	educational qualifications have been fully discussed.
We are, therefore, of the opinion that the grievance made by the petitioners is unacceptable. We may also mention that apart from relying upon the decision of this Court in Jaipal and claiming that the benefit	given to matriculate teachers should	also be given to them, no attempt has been made in the writ petition to allege and establish that their qualifications; duties and functions are similar to those of squad teachers.
For the above reasons, the writ petition fails and is accordingly dismissed. No costs.
W.P. (C) NOS.1008/88, 815/88 545/92 No separate arguments are addressed in	these	writ petitions. They	too are accordingly dismissed for the very same reasons. No costs.