Om Prakash and Ors. v. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Ors.

12. Secretary/Director Rs.7300-200- 7500-250-8000 Rs.15,457/- RATES

1. Dearness Allowance Upto Rs.3500/- = 114% From Rs.3501 to Rs.6000=85% (minimum Rs.3990/-) From Rs.6001 to and above= 74%

2. HOUSE RENT ALLOWANCE 35% of the Basic Pay

3. INTERIM RELIEF Rs. 100/- for all (Minimum Rs.5100/-)

4. CCA Below: Rs.950/- Rs. 30/- p.m. Rs.950/- to Rs.1499/- Rs.45/- p.m. Rs.1500/- to Rs. 1999/- Rs.75/- p.m. Rs.2000/- and above Rs.100/- p.m.

5. TRANSPORT SUBSIDY 1. For maintaining Motor Car = Rs.1035/- p.m. (available for E.O. & above)”

3. It is argued that so far as the petitioner Nos.[1] and 2 who are Electricians are concerned they quite clearly fall in Serial/Category (3) in the aforesaid scales of pay, and though there is no category of a Plumber in the aforesaid scales of pay, however, even the petitioner No.3 as a Plumber has to fall in category 3 which is the third lowest category for scale of pay inasmuch as petitioner No.3 is a skilled person being a Plumber whereas the first two categories in the scales of pay pertain to Chowkidars, Peons and Sweepers who are unskilled workers.

4. Respondent No.1 has countered the case of the petitioners by stating that the petitioners with open eyes took employment as General Tradesman and having taken the benefit of employment as General Tradesman they now cannot claim parity with regular Electricians and Plumbers of the respondent No.1. It is also pleaded in the counter-affidavit that petitioners were over age for appointments and also lacked qualifications for appointments as Electricians and Plumber with the respondent No.1 and therefore they cannot claim parity with regular Electricians and Plumbers working with the respondent No.1.

5. The doctrine of „equal pay for equal work‟ is well established in service jurisprudence. Persons who have same qualifications and are performing the similar duties are ordinarily to be put under the same category for monetary emoluments. There may be certain differences with respect to qualifications or scope of duties but if such differences are minor and irrelevant, Courts can and do ignore the same. The object of the law is that similarly situated persons must be treated similarly for the purpose of payment of salaries. Once a person does identical work as another person in the same organization, there is no reason to deny parity in treatment to both the persons.

6. At the outset, I put to the learned senior counsel for the respondent No.1 whether there were any recruitment rules of the respondent No.1 pleaded in the counter-affidavit, to which the respondents could be said to be bound to, but the learned counsel for the respondents could not point out any paragraph in the counter-affidavit which states what were the applicable recruitment rules of the respondent No.1. Clearly therefore the respondent No.1 has let the position remain fluid and which position has to work definitely not against the petitioners but against the respondent No.1 once we find that the petitioners are doing identical work as regular Electricians and Plumbers working for the respondent No.1 organization and who get a higher scale of pay of Rs.950-1500/- instead of Rs.750- 940/- being paid to the petitioners. So far as petitioner Nos.[1] and 2 are concerned, the writ petition shows that petitioner No.1 is a matriculate holding Electrician Licence from Delhi Administration and having experience of more than 13 years as Electrician. Petitioner No.2 is a matriculate holding ITI diploma of Electrician and has 13 years of experience as an Electrician. Petitioner No.3 is also a matriculate and is an experienced Plumber. The experience of petitioner No.3 is mentioned in para 7 of the writ petition. When we see the corresponding para of the counter-affidavit of the respondent No.1, it is seen that with respect to these specific averments of the qualifications of the petitioners, there is no specific denial and which obviously is because petitioners had the necessary qualifications with respect to Electricians and Plumber which have been stated in paras 4,[5] and 7 of the writ petition. At this stage, I may state that petitioners have filed voluminous documents alongwith rejoinder- affidavit showing that the respondent No.1 has been taking duties from the petitioners only of Electricians and Plumber. The documents filed by the rejoinder-affidavit pertain to the period of pendency of the writ petition and petitioners have been specifically described as Electricians and Plumber and have been specifically designated for electrical and plumbing jobs. Some of the documents show that the petitioner nos. 1 and 2 have even been sent outstation for the designated work of an Electrician. A reading of the aforesaid documents which are from pages 93 to 125 of the paper book, leaves no manner of doubt that actually duties being performed by the petitioners were undoubtedly were of an Electrician and a Plumber.

7. Though the qualifications in CPWD for appointment of Electrician and Plumber do not apply strictly, however, let us still see what these requirements are for appointment to Electrician and Plumber in CPWD. These requirements are as under:-

16. Electrician

1. Name of Post Electrician

2. Scale of pay Rs.330-8-370-10-400-EB-10-480

3. Duties General Supervision and guidance to the work of electrical including carrying out complicated maintenance work on H.T. nad L.T. Electrical installations.

4. Method of Recruitment

(i) Direct Recruitment

(ii) Promotion

5. Age Limit 21-30 years.

6. Qualifications (1) 10th Class standard (2) I.T.I. Diploma in Electrician‟s Trade. (3) He must possess electrical supervisory competency. (4) Must have minimum practical experience of 5 years in erection and running maintenance of different types of both H.T. and L.T. electrical installations including U.G. Cable systems.

7. Departmental Test (1) Practical Test on equipments like switchpear, transformer etc connection of different motors and starters; location and rectification of faults in complicated installation; testing of electrical installation and equipments. (2) Oral test on different H.T. & L.T. electrical appliances; cable joining; safety regulations as per I.B. Rules and stock treatment etc. (3) He should be able to read wiring diagrams associated with different electrical appliances.

8. Whether age & educational qualifications/Departmental test prescribed for direct recruitment will apply in case of appointment by promotion No, except trade tests as prescribed and supervisory certificate of competency.

9. Grades/Sources from which promotion is to be made Wireman; Armature Winder; Lineman; and existing Electrician Work Mistries

10. Period of probation, if any One year. xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

36. Plumber

1. Name of Post Plumber

2. Scale of Pay Rs.260-6-290-EB-6-326-8-366-EB-8-390- 10-400

3. Duties Assembly, fitting, installation, maintenance and repair of plumbering pipes, fixtures and fittings for water supply and for sanitary and drainage system.

4. Method of recruitment

(i) Direct recruitment

(ii) Promotion

5. Age Limit 20-30 years.

6. Qualifications Those who have passed as Plumber from any Technical Training Institute and had at least 2 years‟ practical experience or have had at least 5 years experience in the line and are conversant with items noted below:-

1. Should have a working knowledge of the various types of specials in use in the plumbering trade whether they be H.C.I., G.I. Lead, brass or earthenware and be able to estimate requirements for any job entrusted to him.

2. Should have a thorough knowledge of working with various tools used in the trade such as wrenches, spanners, caulking tools, stocks and dics etc.

3. Should be able to make leak proof joints for pipes made of (a) stoneware (b) earthenware (c) H.C.I., G.I., Cast Iron, lead.

4. Should have a good knowledge of materials that go to form joints and be able to estimate requirement, thereof.

5. Should be able to follow drawings and sketches and execute work according to lay out.

6. Should possess plumbing licences in localities where such licences are issued by local authorities.

7. Must be able to carry out overhaul of biboocks, ball valves, sluice valves including grinding and seating.

7. Departmental Test Trade test: Oral Sample trade test questions are stated below. The question and selection of job may be framed accordingly:-

(i) What is the function of a gully trap? Why are waste pipe discharged to gully and not connected direct to manboics.

(ii) What is an trap and where is it used and why?

(iii) What is the of taking A/S pipe of W.C.

(iv) Name traps only used in connection with sanitary fitting. Where are they

(v) Why is it necessary to use lead connection under basin and near W.C.,

(vi) What is C.I. Pipe and where it is used?

(vii) On what principle does the Flushing cistern work?

(viii) Why do we use soil door fittings and where?

(ix) Why is it necessary to use trap under

(x) What are the advantages of an automatic

1. Male out soil connection for range of three European Pattern W.C.s „S‟ Trap. The Centre to Centre of W.C. should be 3‟-0” Connect the Outlet of W.C. to 4‟ Soil Vertical Pipe with Door Branch. Take out the Antisyphonape of all the W.C.s in one Pipe and fix the 4” Soil and 2” A/S about 6‟- 0” high.

2. (a) Prepare 1 ½” lead or waste pipe 2‟-6” long for Sink waste with solder joint and coupling union. (b) Prepare one lead connection ½” size 12” long with 1/” coupling union

(c) Prepare one ¾ lead ½” connection for

8. Whether age & educational qualifications/Departmental test prescribed for direct recruitment will apply in case of appointment by promotion Trade Test prescribed for direct recruitment will apply in case of appointment by promotion. Age-No Others-Yes

9. Grades/Sources from which promotion to be made From Assistant Plumbers who have put at least 5 years‟ service as such.

10. Period of probation, if any One year.”

8. A reading of the aforesaid qualifications prescribed by the CPWD that so far as Electrician is concerned he must be a matriculate with an ITI diploma besides having experience of five years and possess electrical certificate of competency. So far as qualifications of a Plumber are concerned such person either has to have passed plumber examination from any Technical Training Institute with two years practical experience or have five years experience in the plumbing line. When these aforesaid requirements are compared to the averments made in paras 4,[5] and 7 of the writ petition, it is found that more or less these qualifications are met by each of the petitioners though it may not be strictly so to the last alphabet. The fact of the matter is that so far as petitioner Nos.[1] and 2 are concerned they either had a Diploma or had an Electrician licence from the Delhi Administration besides having experience of 13 years as Electrician and some of which period as an Electrician was with none other than the respondent No.1. So far as a Plumber is concerned, such person only had to have five years experience, and petitioner No.3 has given his requisite experience in para 7 of the writ petition. As already stated above, there is no denial of any worth by the respondent No.1 to the averments made in paras 4,[5] and 7 of the writ petition.

9. I have already stated above that there is nothing in the counteraffidavit of the respondent No.1 that qualifications of CPWD apply, however, I have referred to these CPWD qualifications just to state that it is not as if the petitioners are grossly unqualified for their jobs as Electricians or Plumber but in fact they comply with the requirements in spirit, and more or less in letter also, though may be not strictly 100% in letter. What I am stating is that petitioners are duly qualified to work as Electricians and Plumber with respondent No.1, and I do not have before me what were the qualifications which were used by the respondent No.1 for appointment of Electricians and Plumbers under them. Therefore, qualifications of the petitioners to work as Electricians and Plumber alongwith other such persons in the respondent No.1, in my opinion, stands quite clearly established.

10. So far as scope of duties are concerned, I have already referred to the voluminous documents of the respondent No.1 itself, filed by the petitioners with rejoinder-affidavit, showing beyond any iota of doubt, that the petitioners have always worked right from inception till filing of the writ petition and even thereafter during the pendency of the writ petition only as Electricians and Plumber with the respondent No.1.

11. In my opinion, the facts of the present case show that respondent No.1 is very unfairly using the appointment letters of the petitioners as General Tradesman to deny them the scales of pay which they are otherwise entitled to and being of category (3) in the scales of pay of respondent no.1 annexed as Annexure P-1 to the writ petition. I have also failed to understand what can be the logic of the respondent No.1 to deny parity between identically placed persons. It is not open to the respondent No.1 in my opinion to rely upon appointment letters to give a lesser scale of pay to the petitioners merely on the ground of a conveniently given job designation which is not provided in the rules/scales of pay of respondent no.1, and when otherwise the qualifications and the scope of duties of petitioners are same as other Electricians and Plumbers of the respondent No.1. If I permit acceptance of the contentions of the respondent No.1 for accepting petitioners appointments as „General Tradesman‟ it would amount to allowing the respondent No.1 to violate the well-established doctrine of „equal pay for equal work‟.

12. The upshot of the above discussion is as under:-

(i) Petitioners were originally appointed by the respondent No.1 itself as

(ii) Though the subsequent job designation in the appointment letters of the petitioners were as General Tradesman, however, the scope of duties of the petitioners were actually of Electricians and Plumber, and which were/are the same duties for being given to other Electricians and Plumbers of the respondent No.1.

(iii) Respondent No.1 has no rules of recruitment and when we take the rules of CPWD petitioners more or less comply with the qualifications for being appointed as Electricians and Plumbers.

(iv) Petitioners all along have worked only as Electricians and Plumber with the respondent No.1 and hence they cannot be discriminated against by giving them separate treatment viz giving them lesser and separate scales of pay than as given to other Electricians and Plumbers of the respondent No.1.

13. The facts of the present case show the crying need to apply the principle of „equal pay for equal work‟ failing which Constitution mandate of Article 14 of the Constitution of India to avoid arbitrariness and directing for equals to be treated equally would stand violated.

14. In view of the aforesaid discussion, writ petition is allowed. Petitioners will be granted the pay scales of Rs.950-1500/- from the date of their appointments as General Tradesman with the respondent No.1. Petitioners will get all consequential monetary emoluments on their having been granted the scale of pay of Rs.950-1500/- from the original date of their appointments. Of course, I must hasten to clarify that if promotions in the respondent No.1 have to be as per the criteria of merit-cum-seniority or seniority-cum-merit, then, the petitioners for being entitled to promotions would have to meet the necessary criteria for being given the higher scale of pay of the promotion post. The arrears as now payable to the petitioners in view of allowing of the present writ petition be now calculated by the respondent No.1 and be given to the petitioners within a period of eight weeks from today. The petitioners will give their response to such calculations within four weeks thereafter. Admitted dues of the petitioners be paid within a period of four weeks thereafter i.e within a period of four months from today. In case, there are any disputes with respect to higher scales of pay required to be given to petitioners at a subsequent point of time, then their original dates of appointments or entitlement of the petitioners to promotions or any other aspects which entitle the petitioners to higher emoluments, and which if denied by the respondent No.1, these aspects can be the subject matter of appropriate independent proceedings, and if permissible even contempt proceedings.

15. Writ petition is allowed and disposed of with the aforesaid observations. Parties are left to bear their own costs. MAY 15, 2013 VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J. Ne