SC upholds pay scales based on qualification

Higher the qualification, higher can be the pay scale. That in effect was the substance of a judgement delivered today by a bench comprising...

Higher the qualification, higher can be the pay scale. That in effect was the substance of a judgement delivered today by a bench comprising Chief Justice V.N. Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice S.H. Kapadia.

Dealing with the case of Madhya Pradesh Rural Agricultural Extension Officers Association (MPAEOA), the bench said if a state government fixed variable pay scales for employees in the same post on the basis of different educational qualifications, it was okay and did not violate Article 14 (Right to Equality).

The MPA Extension Officers were originally appointed as village-level workers. They were all matriculates. The state government, by MP Revision of Pay Rules, 1983, created two different scales of pay, viz., Rs 575-880 for non-graduates (dying scale) and Rs 635-950 for fresh recruitment and for existing B.Sc and B.Sc Agriculture.

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After their writ petition was dismissed in the HC, the extension officers approached the apex court. Their counsel contended in the SC that sanction of different scale to employees of the same cadre was impermissible.

After weighing arguments, the bench observed: “Although Pay Revision Commission is considered an expert body, the state may or may not accept its recommendations”.

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