LexSHAH SAMIR BHARATBHAI & ORS. versus THE STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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[2025] 8 S.C.R. 1161 : 2025 INSC 1026 Shah Samir Bharatbhai & Ors. v. The State of Gujarat & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 11028 of 2025) 22 August 2025 [Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Issue arose as regards claim for parity in pay by the respondents appointed on contractual basis as Assistant Professors with Assistant Professors who are performing identical duties and functions. Headnotes† Service law – Equal pay for equal work – Principle of – Contractually appointed Assistant Professors teaching in various Government Engineering Colleges and other Institutions – Parity in pay with similarly placed Assistant Professors who are performing identical duties and functions sought – Single Judge held that they would be entitled to a minimum of the pay scale of Assistant Professors, which was upheld by the Division Bench – Challenge to: Held: Applying the principles of equal pay for equal work and confirming the directions of the Division Bench, the respondents- contractually appointed Assistant Professors, entitled to the minimum pay scale admissible to Assistant Professors – It is just not enough to keep reciting gurubramha gururvishnu gurdevo maheshwarah at public functions, if the said declaration is believed, it must be reflected in the way the nation treats its teachers – Assistant professors appointed on contractual basis during 2011 to 2025 have been working at abysmally low monthly emoluments for the last two decades – While there is no material whatsoever drawing out a distinction between the duties and functions performed by them and that of their colleagues appointed regularly or on ad hoc basis, they continue to draw monthly salary of Rs. 30,000/- which is disturbing – It is high time that the State takes up the 1162 [2025] 8 S.C.R. Supreme Court Reports issue and rationalize the pay structure on the basis of functions that they perform. [Paras 3, 5, 31-34] Case Law Cited Shivdas v. Union of India & Ors. [2007] 1 SCR 1127 : AIR 2007 SC 1330; Sabha Shanker Dube v. Divisional Forest Officer (2019) 12 SCC 297 - referred to. List of Keywords Claim for parity in pay; Contractual appointed Assistant Professors; Assistant Professors performing identical duties and functions; Equal pay for equal work; Government Engineering Colleges; Minimum of the pay scale; Gurubramha gururvishnu gurdevo maheshwarah; Public functions; Abysmally low monthly emoluments; Rationalize the pay structure. Case Arising From CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 11028 of 2025 From the Judgment and Order dated 20.12.2023 of the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in LPA No. 1371 of 2023 With Civil Appeal No(s). 11029, 11030-11031, 11032-11033, and 11034-11035 of 2025 Appearances for Parties Advs. for the Appellants: Balbir Singh, Sr. Adv., Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Ms. Devyani Bhatt, Ms. Neha Singh, Naman Tandon, Alakh Alok Srivastava. Advs. for the Respondents: Nikhil Goel, Colin Gonsalves, Balbir Singh, Sr. Advs, Pradhuman Gohil, Mrs. Taruna Singh Gohil, Alapati Sahithya Krishna, Ms. Hetvi K. Patel, Rushabh N. Kapadia, Ms. Hetvi Ketan Patel, Ms. Taniya Bansal, Ms. Siddhi Gupta, Ms. Riddhi Jain, Abhishek Yadav, Ullas Gohil, Prakhar Srivastava, Abhay Malik, Ms. Preeti Gupta, Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Ms. Devyani Bhatt, Ms. Neha Singh, Naman Tandon. [2025] 8 S.C.R. 1163 Shah Samir Bharatbhai & Ors. v. The State of Gujarat & Ors. Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court Judgment 1. Delay condoned. Leave granted. 2. These clutch of appeals stem from two judgments delivered by the Division Bench of the High Court of Gujarat. In the first judgment1, State of Gujarat & Anr. v. Gohel Vishal Chhaganbhai & Ors. State’s Letter Patent Appeals against orders of the single Judge granting the minimum scale of Assistant Professors to the respondents contractually appointed as Assistant Professors was dismissed. The State is before us in the first set of Civil Appeals. The second set of Civil Appeals pertain to some of the subsequently appointed contractual Assistant Professors, whose writ petitions were allowed by the single Judge granting complete parity with similarly placed Assistant Professors. The Division Bench, in State’s Letter Patent Appeals went to the other extreme of allowing the appeals and dismissing the writ petitions altogether. Thus, the contractually appointed Assistant Professors are before us. 3. While applying the principles of equal p
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