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PETITIONER: TELECOMMUNICATION RESEARCH CENTRE SCIENTIFICOFFICERS (CLASS

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS

DATE OF JUDGMENT16/01/1987

BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) SINGH, K.N. (J)

CITATION:  1987 AIR  490            1987 SCR  (1)1007  1987 SCC  (1) 582        JT 1987 (1)   152  1987 SCALE  (1)62

ACT:     Constitution  of India, 1950: Articles 14 and 16:  Civil Services-Pay  parity--Scientific  and  Technical   Officers, class I, Telecommunication Research Centre--Direct  recruits through Union Public Service Commission--Denied special  pay admissible   to--Departmental  Transferred  Officers   Class I--Held discriminatory and ultra vires.

HEADNOTE:     The  recruitment to Class I posts in the  Telecommunica- tion Research Centre of the Posts and Telegraphs  Department is  made  partly  by direct recruitment  through  the  Union Public  Service  Commission and partly through  transfer  of Group  A  and Group B Field Officers. The  officers  brought into  the Centre on transfer were being paid special pay  in addition to their pay. The direct recruits were denied  this privilege.     The petitioners 2 to 22, members of the first  petition- er-Association,  who belong to the direct recruits  category and are working in the Centre on the same posts, and possess same qualifications, discharge same functions and duties  as the  transferred officers, and are in the same  pay  scales, assailed the denial of special pay to them as discriminatory and  violative  of Articles 14 and 16 of  the  Constitution. Their claim was contested by the Department and the discrim- ination  was sought to be justified on the ground  that  the direct  recruits were. specifically recruited to the  Centre for  a  limited  purpose and their  capability,  as  against transferred  officers, selected by the Union Public  Service Commission  after rigorous competitive examination, of  tak- ing.  over a complete group and directing them  to  fruitful research was doubtful. Allowing the writ petitions, the Court,     HELD:  1.  Denial of special pay to Class I  direct  re- cruits  in the Telecommunication Research Centre amounts  to violation  of Articles 14 and 16 of the  Constitution.  They are  entitled to the special pay at the same rates at  which it  is  paid  to the transferred officers  working  in  that Centre with effect from the date from which the latter  have been drawing it. [1013B-C] 1008

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   2.1 It is not the case of the Government that the  peti- tioners  are  not competent and are not  able  to  discharge their  duties.  All the relevant things such  as  qualifica- tions,  functions, duties and responsibilities are the  same as  between  the direct recruits and the  transferred  offi- cials. Their scale of pay is also the same. [1011G-H]     2.2 The special pay is not being paid to the transferred officials  for compensating their displacement or for  their qualifications.  It is not deputation allowance. It is  paid for  the arduous and special nature of the functions  to  be discharged  in  the Telecommunication Research  Centre.  The rigorous  test  is applied while transferring  them  to  the Centre  to prevent persons of inferior caliber amongst  them getting  into  it.  It does not mean that  persons  who  are directly recruited and working in the Centre are inferior to those who enter the Centre by transfer. Nor it could be said that the transferred officials had to perform in the  Centre duties  which  were not in their general  line.  There  was, thus,  no justification to deny the special pay at the  same rates to the direct recruits working in that Centre. [1011H; 1012A-B; 1013A]     Randhir  Singh  v. Union of India and Others,  [1982]  3 SCR,  298  and M.P. Singh & Others v. Union of  India,  Writ Petition  Nos. 13097--13176 of 1984, decided on January  16, 1987, applied.     Union of India to pay special pay to the direct recruits with effect from the date on which the transferred  officers commenced to draw it upto date and to continue to pay it  in future also as long as the transferred officers continue  to get it. [1013C-D]

JUDGMENT: ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition Nos. 3269-3290 of 1982 (Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India). M.S. Ganesh for the Petitioners.     V.Kanth,  C.V.  Subba Rao, Ms. Halida Khatun,  N.S.  Das Bahl and D.N. Misra for the Respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by     VENKATARAMIAH,  J. The first petitioner in  these  peti- tions  is the Telecommunication Research  Centre  Scientific Officers (Class I) Association. The petitioners 2 to 22  are its members. They are working 1009 as officers in the Telecommunication Research Centre of  the Posts  and Telegraph Department which is directly under  the control of the P&T Board of the Ministry of  Communications, Government  of India. The Telecommunication Research  Centre is  engaged in the research and development work  concerning the  telecommunication equipment for the use of the  Depart- ment  and  in advising the P&T Board on  relevant  technical matters  relating to the introduction of new  equipment  and technology  in the existing public communication  net  work. The recruitment to the different cadres in the  Telecommuni- cation Research Centre is now being made under the Scientif- ic  and Technical Officers Grade I  (Telecommunications  Re- search  Centre of the Posts and Telegraphs  Department)  Re- cruitment  Rules,  1962  (hereinafter referred  to  as  "the Recruitment Rules") framed by the President under the provi- so  to Article 309 of the Constitution of India. During  the period  between 1956 and 1962 and further till 1965 all  the Class I posts of the Scientific and Technical Officers Grade I namely Assistant Director and Deputy Director were  manned

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by  the Transferred Field Officers belonging to  the  Indian Telecommunication Service Group A and Group B. For the first time the Union Public Service Commission advertised for  the recruitment of 10 Scientific and Technical Officers Grade  I in   the  Telecommunications  Research  Centre   under   the Recruitment Rules. These were General Central Service  Class I  posts and they continue to be so till today. In  response to the said advertisement petitioners 2,3 and 4 applied  for recruitment  and they were selected for appointment  to  the posts of S&T.O. Grade I. At the time of the filing of  these writ  petitions there were in all 21 officers who  had  been recruited at the entry level of Junior Class I posts of S  & T.Os  Grade I. They were recruited in four batches in  1965, 1967, 1970 and 1973.     The  Class  I posts in  the  Telecommunication  Research Centre consist of the following posts: 1. Director (Senior Adminstrative Grade Level I) 2.  Additional Director (Senior Administrative  Grade  Level II) 3. Deputy Directors (Junior Administrative Grade) 4. Assistant Directors (Senior Class I) 5.  Scientific and Technical Officers Grade I (Junior  Class I).     The  Posts of Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors  and S.T.Os Grade I are filled by the following methods: 1010 (a)  by direct recruitment through the Union Public  Service Commission,  (The petitioners belong to this category.  They are  now holding the posts of Assistant Directors or  Deputy Directors since 1975. Direct recruitment to the Telecommuni- cation Research Centre has been discontinued.) (b) by transfer of Group A Field Officers recruited  through the  Union Public Service Commission by written  examination followed  by  an interview, (These officers  belong  to  the Indian Telecommunication Service Group B) and (c) by transfer of Group B Field Officers who are Posts  and Telegraphs departmental promotees belonging to the Telegraph Engineering Service, Group.     The  direct recruits to which category  the  petitioners belong and the Transferred Field Officers Group A working in the  Telecommunication Research Centre discharge same  func- tions  and duties. The qualifications for  recruitment  pre- scribed  in the case of both classes are the same. They  are in  the  same pay scales from 1.1. 1973  at  the  comparable levels/grades, i.e., Scientific and Technical Officers Grade I,  Assistant Directors and Deputy Directors as  recommended by the Third Pay Commission and accepted by the Government.     In  these  petitions, the petitioners  have  raised  two grounds, namely, the first relating to the denial of  promo- tional  opportunities  to them on account of  the  irregular implementation  of the rules of promotion contained  in  the Recruitment  Rules and the second relating to  violation  of Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution by not  grant- ing them the same special pay which is granted to the trans- ferred  officers  who are working in  the  Telecommunication Research  Centre in the same posts and discharging the  same functions as the petitioners.     Having regard to the inadequacy of the material produced by  both the sides before us and to the fact that the  offi- cers  who are likely to be affected by the decision are  not impleaded  as parties by name to these petitions, we are  of the  view that the first question should be left open to  be decided  by the Central Administrative Tribunal. We  accord- ingly express no opinion on the said question. The  second  question relating to the grant of  Special  Pay

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requires 1011 to be decided by us. It is seen that the Indian Telecommuni- cation Service Officers who are working in the  Telecommuni- cation  Research Centre are being given Special Pay  of  Rs. 300, Rs. 200 and Rs. 150 per month in addition to their  pay scales in the grades of Deputy Director, Assistant  Director and  Scientific and Technical Officers Grade I  respectively with  effect  from 1.1.1973. The direct  recruits  to  which category  the petitioners belong are not given  any  Special Pay  in these grades and they are given only the pay at  the pay scales prescribed for them. It is stated that the  total number  of officers who are thus getting Special Pay  is  of the order of 275 while only about 25 officers who are direct recruits  working in the Telecommunication  Research  Centre are  not  given Special Pay paid to the others  holding  the same posts. A number of representations had been made earli- er  by the direct recruits but all in vain. It appears  that at  the  official meeting held in May, 1979 with  Shri  J.A. Dave  Secretary, Communications, Government of India,  there was consensus on the question of granting of Special Pay  to the  direct recruits as in the case of transferred  officers as can be seen from the letter written by the Association on the petitioners (Annexure XIX) and that the Director,  Tele- communication Research Centre also recommended for  granting Special  Pay accordingly. But nothing came out of all  this. Hence  the petitioners have filed these petitions  demanding payment of Special Pay to them also.     The  discrimination between the direct recruits and  the transferred officers regarding the payment of Special Pay is attempted to be justified by the Government in the  Counter- affidavit  filed  by  Shri C.L.  Sumon,  Assistant  Director General (P & T Directorate). It is stated that the petition- ers (direct recruits) who are specifically recruited to  the Telecommunication Research Centre for a limited purpose  are not entitled to any Special Pay but the transferred officers from the Indian Telecommunications Service who are  selected by  the  Union Public Service Commission  after  a  rigorous competition  examination need to be paid Special Pay. It  is alleged  that ’it is felt that most of the  direct  recruits TRC  officers may be good in small areas in which  they  are working,  but  their capability of taking  over  a  complete group and directing them to fruitful research is  doubtful’. This  statement is a vague one and has the effect of  adding insult  to  injury.  This allegation appears to  be  a  lame excuse  for denying what is legitimately due to  the  direct recruits.  It  is not the case of the  Government  that  the petitioners are not competent and are not able to  discharge their duties. All the direct recruits are graduate engineers and  have been working throughout in  the  Telecommunication Research  Centre.  They do the same job as  the  transferred officials. The Special Pay is not being paid to the 1012 transferred officials for compensating their displacement or for their qualifications. It is not deputation allowance. It is paid for the arduous and special nature of the  functions to  be discharged in the Telecommunication Research  Centre. The rigorous test is applied while transferring them to  the Telecommunication  Research  Centre to  prevent  persons  of inferior caliber amongst them getting into the said  centre. It does not mean that persons who are directly recruited and working  in the centre are inferior to those who  enter  the centre  by  transfer.  It is interesting to  note  that  the Minister  of State for Communications answered the  question relating  to non-payment of Special Pay in the Lok Sabha  on

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March 30, 1982 thus: "Question  No. 5864--Wi11 the Minister of Communications  be pleased to state: (c) whether it is a fact that Special Pay is not given to  a few  graduate engineers recruited specifically for TRC  when the  qualifications, functions, duties  and-responsibilities of these officers in TRC are the same as those of the  field officers  transferred to TRC and what is the reason for  not doing so?" Answer--Minister of State for Communications: "..................................................... 2. The officers specifically recruited for TRC through UPSC, are performing functions for which they are recruited, while on  the other hand, the officers drawn from the  ITS  cadre, when  posted in TRC. are required to perform  duties,  which are not in their general line."     It is seen from the above answer that the Government had virtually admitted that all relevant things such as qualifi- cations, functions, duties and responsibilities are the same as between direct recruits and the transferred officials and that  the transferred officials had to be paid extra  amount by  way  of Special Pay in addition to their  scale  of  pay which  is  the same as the scale of pay of  direct  recruits because  the  transferred officials had to  perform  in  the Telecommunication  Research Centre duties which are  not  in their  general line. In another part of the same  answer  it was also admitted that many such transferred officials  were in  the Telecommunication Research Centre for more than  six years. Still the Government did not show any eagerness 1013 to  grant special pay to the direct recruits also.  We  feel that  there is no justification to deny the Special  Pay  at the  same rates to the direct recruits working in the  Tele- communication Research Centre. Denial of Special Pay in  the above circumstances to the direct recruits amounts to viola- tion of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.     Following the decision of this Court in Randhir Singh v. Union of India and Others, [1982] 3 SCR 298 and the decision of  this  Court in M.P. Singh & Others v.  Union  of  India, (Writ  Petition Nos. 1309713 176 of 1984 decided  today)  we hold  that the direct recruits (to which category the  peti- tioners belong) in the Telecommunication Research Centre are entitled to the Special Pay at the same rates at which it is paid to the transferred officers working in that centre with effect  from  the date from which the  transferred  officers have  been  drawing the Special Pay. We  accordingly  direct ’the Respondent No. 1--Union of India to pay the special pay to  the direct recruits with effect from the date  on  which the  transferred officers commenced to draw the Special  Pay upto  date and to continue to pay it in future also as  long as the transferred officers continue to get it. The  arrears of the Special Pay upto date payable to the direct  recruits shall be paid within four months from today.     The above petitions are allowed to the above extent. The question relating to the denial of promotional opportunities to  the  petitioners according to the Recruitment  Rules  is left  open to be agitated before the Central  Administrative Tribunal. No costs. P.S.S.                                             Petitions allowed. 1014