STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS. ETC . versus DEBDAS KUMAR AND ORS. ETC.

Citation: [1991] 1 S.C.R. 517 · Decided: 19-02-1991 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: L.M. SHARMA · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

. 
JI/ 
.Ji... -
•• 
STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS. ETC . 
v. 
DEBDAS KUMAR AND ORS. ETC. 
FEBRUARY 19, 1991 
A 
[LAUT MOHAN SHARMA AND M. FATHIMA BEEVI, JJ.l 
B 
West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules 
-~ 1970-Schedule I, Part-B and Notification dated November 19, 1974 
sub-para (ii) of Part W 3 'Diploma holders in engineering'-Whether to 
be termed as Sub-Assistant Engineers and given the benefit of the post 
and pay scale. · 
The respondents in these appeals are diploma holder engineers 
employed in the various departments of the Government of West Bengal 
c 
as Operator-cum-mechanics/Electricians etc. in the pay scale of 
Rs.230-425. Consequent upon the amendment of West Bengal Services 
(Revision of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 1970 the respondents filed writ 
D 
petitions before the High Court claiming that by virtue of sub-para 
(ii) of Para IV of the Notification dated 19.11.74 they are to be termed as 
Sub-Assistant Engineers and given the benefit of that post and scale of 
pay of Rs.300-600, as they are diploma holders in engineers. It was 
asserted by them that the benefit of the said Notification had been given 
to similarly situated persons in the other departments of the State 
E 
Government but they had been subjected to discriminatory treatment 
by denying to them those benefits. The State Government contended 
before the High Court that ·sub-para (ii) Para IV of the notification 
applied only to Overseers, Estimators and Sub-Overseers already work-
ing in the pay scale of Rs.300-600 and not to Operator-cum-Mechanics/ 
Electricians etc. whose scale of pay was Rs.230-425. According to the 
F 
State, the said Notification was intended merely to change the designa-
tion of .various technicians and engineers having identical scale of pay 
Rs.300-600 to secure uniformity of designation of those employees and 
since the recruitment qualification of the respondents was much less 
than the diploma in engineering, they were not entitled to be 
redesignated as Sub-Assistant Engineers. The learned single Judge of 
G 
the High Court allowed the writ petitions holding that the case of the 
respondents fell within the purview of the November 1974 notification 
and they were entitled to be termed as Sub-Assistant Engineers. The 
State Government preferred an appeal against the said order before the 
Division Bench. The Division Bench of the High Court, though held that 
sub-para (ii) of para IV of the Notification dated 19.11.1974 could not be H 
517 
518 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1991]. 1 S.C.R. 
A 
construed to include the Operator-cum-Mechanics/Electricians, who + 
were drawing the pay scale of Rs.230-425, dismissed the appeals with 
the observation that the respondents jwrit petitioners should have been 
admitted to the benefit of the pay scale of Rs.300-600 long before others 
holding the same position as the writ petitioners had been granted the 
benefits. The State Government has now filed these appeals after' 
B 
obtaining special leave. 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
Dismissing the appeals, this Court, 
HELD: The reasons for amending the 1970 Rules by the Noti-
fications dated 11.3.1974 and 19.11.1974 was the decision of the 
Government to remove the anomalies in the existing rule so as to attract 
men of quality and also with a view to remove frustration among those 
having specialised knowledge of a technical nature. [525C-D] 
The persons brought under the category of 'other diploma holder 
engineers' can only be the persons like the Operator-Cum-Mechanic/ 
Electrician with diploma in engineering and working in various depart-
ments in the Engineering Service. [525F] 
Clause (iv) of Para IV of the Notification which states that Gazet-
ted status is conferred on the members of the Subordinate Engineering 
Services and all sub~Assistant Engineers also relates to these two 
categories, that is, the Overseers, Sub-Overseers. and Estimators who 
are already members of the Subordinate Engineering Service and the 
'other diploma holder engineers' now termed as Sub-Assistant 
Engineering. [525G-H] 
There is a concurrent f"mding that these respondents have been 
discriminated and the State Government had acted arbitrarily without-
any rational basis by conferring benefits of the Notification to .17 other 
employees in other departments while denying the said benefits to the 
said respondents in the Agriculture Department. [526E] 
Chief Secretary to Government <if A.P. v. Cornelius, [1981] 2 
SCR 930; State of
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