vil Appeal No 4115 and 4116 of 1985
From the Judgment and Order dated 1241985 of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Misc
Writ Petn
No 3441 of 1984
JP Goyal Rajesh for the Appellants in CA No 41 15 of 1985
Anil Dev Singh Mrs section Dikshit and Sudhir Kulshreshta for the Appellants in CA No 4116 of 1985
R Ramachandran for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DUTT J
These two appeals by special leave one pre ferred by the State of UP and the other by the Cane Super visors of the Cane Development Department UP are direct ed against the judgment of 975 the Allahabad High Court directing the State Government to merge the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and Ganna Supervisors into the cadre of Ganna Sahayak in the pay scale of Rs400 615 with effect from 1 7 1979
In the hierarchy of field officers in the Cane Develop ment Department UP the post of Ganna Gram Sewak is at the bottom
The next higher post is the post of Cane Super visor
Under the Cane Development Fourth Class Service Rules 1972 framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks are filled by direct recruitment and the minimum qualification prescribed there for by Rule 93 of the said Rules is that a candidate for recruitment in the post of Ganna Gram Sewak must have passed the High School Examination from the Board of High Schools and Intermediate Education UP or an equivalent examina tion and he must know Hindi in Devnagri script
Under the Uttar Pradesh Ganna Paryavekshak III Service Rules 1978 also framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India 50 per cent of the posts of Cane Supervisors are to be filled by direct recruitment and the remaining 50 per cent by promotion on the basis of seniority from amongst perma nent Ganna Gram Sewaks of the concerned region
The basic qualification for the post of Cane Supervisor is Intermedi ate Agriculture or equivalent or High School with two years Diploma in Agriculture
The duties that are to be performed by the Ganna Gram Sewaks are preparation of progress report survey of the cane areas and development programmes
The Cane Supervisors are responsible for plant protection inputs godown and nurseries in the areas of Ganna Gram Sewaks
The State of UP appointed a Second Pay Commission in the year 1979
The Ganna Gram Sewaks submitted a representa tion to the Commission demanding that since their qualifica tions were similar to those of Cane Supervisors and they performed the same kind of duties they should get the same pay scale as that of the Cane Supervisors
It appears that on the suggestion of the Pay Commission the State Govern ment appointed a Task Force Committee
The Task Force Com mittee in its report recommended the merger of the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors into one group to be designated as Ganna Sahayaks and allotted an equal field of operation
It was observed that the merger being effected would satisfy the demand of the Ganna Gram Sewaks for the equalisation of their pay scale with that of the Cane Super visors
The said recommendation was made by the Task Force Committee on the ground that there was no special difference between these two categories of posts in regard to 976 the duties performed by the members of each category
The Second Pay Commission however did not accept the recommen dation made by the Task Force Committee for the merger of these two categories of posts into one category namely Ganna Sahayak
After taking into consideration the minimum academic qualification and the nature of duties for each category the Second Pay Commission inter alia recommended the revision of the pay scales as follows CANE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT section No Name of Post Pay Scale Existing Proposed 46
Cane Supervisor 230 385 400 615 Seed Asstt
Ordinary Ordinary Grade Grade 250 425 510 675 Selection After Grade After 10 years of service Selection Grade  15 Selection Grade on the post of Supervisor 47
Ganna Gram Sewak 185 265 325 495 Ordinary Ordinary Grade Grade 200 320 400 540 Selection After 15 years Grade of service Selection Grade on 15 posts
The recommendation of the Second Pay Commission was considered by the Review Committee and thereafter by the Cabinet Sub Committee
There is a dispute between the par ties as to whether the Cabinet Sub Committee had accepted the recommendation made by the Task Force Committee
Be that as it may the State Govern 977 ment accepted the recommendations of the Second Pay Commis sion only with a slight modification that instead of a pay scale of Rs325 495 for Ganna Gram Sewaks it would be Rs330 495
One of the Ganna Gram Sewaks Shri Vyas Muni Mishra the respondent No 1 filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court praying for a writ of mandamus directing the State Government to merge the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors into one cadre of Ganna Sahayak 
The High Court took the view that although the minimum educational qualifications required were High School for Ganna Gram Sewaks and Intermediate in Agriculture for Cane Supervisors since 1975 the minimum qualification for both Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors became Intermediate in Agricul ture
Further the High Court was of the view that the nature of duties performed by the members of these two categories of posts was the same
Accordingly relying upon the principle of equal pay for equal work as contained in Article 39d of the Constitution the High Court allowed the writ petition and directed the State Government to merge the posts of Ganna Gram Sewak and that of Cane Supervisor into one post as Ganna Sahayak in the pay scale of Rs400 615 with effect from July 1 1979
The State of UP and the Cane Supervisors being aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court have preferred the above appeals
At the outset it may be said that the High Court exceed ed its jurisdiction in directing the merger of the two posts
It may be that the Task Force Committee and the Review Committee had recommended for the merger but it was for the State Government to consider whether such merger should be made or not
The State Government after considera tion of the relevant reports and recommendations accepted the recommendation of the Second Pay Commission only with regard to the revision of the pay scale of the Ganna Gram Sewaks with the slight modification by an increase of Rs 5 at the initial stage of the recommended pay scale
The question whether two posts should be merged into one or not is absolutely within the jurisdiction and authority of the Executive Government
However much the High Court was influ enced by the principle of equal pay for equal work for both men and women as contained in Article 39d of the Constitu tion the High Court was not justified in exceeding its jurisdiction for giving effect to the said doctrine
The principle of equal pay for equal work requires on the face of it that the work to be performed by two groups of persons must be 978 equal
It has been already noticed that the duties that had to be performed by the Ganna Gram Sewaks are preparation of progress report survey of the cane areas and development programmes
On the other hand the Cane Supervisors are responsible for plant protection inputs godown and nurser ies in the areas of Ganna Gram Sewaks
Thus the nature of duties that are performed by the members of these two cate gories of posts is different
It has been observed by the Second Pay Commission that the Department has so fixed the duties of the two functionaries that both of them now func tion more or less independently
The High Court did not discuss in detail as to whether the Ganna Gram Sewaks and the Cane Supervisors perform the same duties
The High Court has only referred to an observation in the report of the Task Force Committee that there were not much differences in the duties performed by these two categories of officers
As has been stated already the Second Pay Commission did not accept the recommendation of the Task Force Committee for the merger of the two posts into one
It is true that the Cane Supervisors are not doing any supervision of the work of the Ganna Gram Sewaks but in view of the nature of duties performed by both as mentioned above it is diffi cult to hold that both perform the same kind of duties
We have also looked into the reports of the Task Force Commit tee and the Review Committee
In our opinion these two Committees have not properly dealt with the nature of duties performed by the Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors although both these Committees have recommended the merger of the two posts
As soon as therefore it is held that the two groups of persons do not perform the same kind of du ties the question of equal pay for equal work does not arise
In directing merger of the two posts the High Court has greatly relied upon the fact that although the minimum educational qualification for Ganna Gram Sewaks was High School since 1975 the minimum educational qualification for the Ganna Gram Sewaks has been Intermediate in Agriculture
In other words according to the High Court the minimum educational qualification required for both these posts is Intermediate in Agriculture
We have already referred to the Rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution under which the minimum qualification for the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks has been prescribed as High School or equivalent examination and for the Cane Supervisors as Intermediate Agriculture or equivalent or High School with two years  Diploma in Agriculture
The minimum qualifications as prescribed have not yet been changed by the amendment of the said Rules
In entertaining the view that the minimum qualification for the Ganna Gram Sewaks has been since 1975 Intermediate in 979 Agriculture the High Court has placed reliance upon a letter dated March 10 1975 addressed by the Cane Commis sioner UP to the Deputy Secretary Cane Development Department Government of UP
In that letter it was recom mended that the minimum educational qualification for the Ganna Gram Sewaks should be Intermediate in accordance with the proposal of the Ganna Gram Sewaks  Union UP
It was accordingly requested by the Cane Commissioner in the said letter that the Government might consider the minimum quali fication as recommended
It is the case of the State of UP that the said letter was issued in connection with 600 new posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks to be created under non statutory bodies namely Sakkar Nidhi and Ganna Board
It is contend ed that these 600 posts have nothing to do with the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks under the Cane Development Department of the State of UP
In our opinion the High Court should not have placed any reliance upon any such recommendation made by the Cane Commissioner when under the Rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution the minimum qualification required for the Ganna Gram Sewaks is High School or equiva lent
So long as the Rules are amended and the minimum qualification is not enhanced to Intermediate in Agricul ture the Cane Development Department of the Government cannot prescribe or insist on a minimum qualification of Intermediate in Agriculture
The Second Pay Commission could not also equate the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks with that of Cane Supervisors on the ground that the minimum qualifica tion for the two posts are different
The High Court was therefore
not justified in relying upon the said letter of the Cane Commissioner in preference to the Rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution
In our view there fore not only the nature of duties attached to each post is different but also the minimum qualification required for each post is also different
As stated earlier the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks are filled by direct recruitment
So far as the posts of Cane Supervisors are concerned 50 per cent of the same are filled by promotion from the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and the remaining 50 per cent are filled by direct recruitment
Thus the post of Cane Supervisor is a promotional post vis a vis the post of Ganna Gram Sewak
In our view where as in the instant case of the two posts one being the promotional post and the other being the feeder post it will be beyond the jurisdiction of the Court to implement the principle of equal pay for equal work inasmuch as such implementation will practically result in the amalgmation of the two posts leading to great administrative difficulties
Article 39d of the Constitution lays down the Directive Principle of 980 equal pay for equal work for both men and women
The direc tive principles contained in Part IV of the Constitution are not enforceable in any court of law
It is a constitutional goal that has to be achieved at the instance of the State
Merger or bifurcation of a cadre is an executive act and normally the Court does not deal with it
It is for the State to consider whether two groups of persons working under two distinct posts perform the same kind of duties or not and whether in implementing the directive principle as contained in Article 39d of the Constitution it is neces sary to merge these two posts into one cadre or post
If the State Government is of the view that it is necessary that there should be a merger of the two posts into one post the State Government has to take steps in that regard by framing proper rules with regard to seniority promotions etc
But when two groups of persons are in the same or similar posts performing same kind of work either in the same or in the different Government departments the Court may in suitable cases direct equal pay by way of removing unreasonable discrimination and treating the two groups similarly situ ated equally
In the facts and circumstances of the instant case we are of the view that the High Court was not justi fied in directing a merger of the two posts namely the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors
For the reasons aforesaid the impugned judgment of the High Court is set aside and the writ petition is dismissed
Both these appeals are allowed
There is however no order as to costs
This judgment however will not prevent the State of UP from considering the merger of these two posts and the consequent equalisation of pay
PSS Appeals allowed


Summary:
The UP Cane Development Fourth Class Service Rules 1972 prescribe minimum qualification of High School Examina tion for the post of Ganna Gram Sewak
The UP Ganna Parya vekshak III Services Rules 1972 lay down the basic quali fication of Intermediate Agriculture or equivalent or High School with two years  Diploma in Agriculture for the post of Cane Supervisor and provide for filling 50 per cent of these posts by promotion from amongst permanent Ganna Gram Sewaks
The Cane Commissioner by his letter dated March 10 1975 recommended to the State Government that the minimum educational qualification for Ganna Gram Sewaks should be Intermediate
No amendment however has been made to the said Rules
The duties that are to be performed by the Ganna Gram Sewaks are preparation of progress report survey of cane areas and development programme
The Cane Supervisors are responsible for plant protection inputs godown and nurser ies in the areas of Ganna Gram Sewaks
The respondent No 1 flied a writ petition under article 226 of the 973 Constitution praying for a writ of mandamus directing the State Government to merge the post of Ganna Gram Sewaks and the Cane Supervisors into one cadre
The High Court took the view that although the minimum educational qualifications required were High School for Ganna Gram Sewaks and Intermediate in Agriculture for Cane Supervisors since 1975 the minimum qualification became Intermediate in Agriculture for both Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors that the nature of duties performed by the members of these two categories of posts was the same and relying upon the principle of equal pay for equal work as contained in article 39d of the Constitution allowed the writ petition and directed the State Government to merge the said posts into one cadre of Ganna Sahayak
The State and the Cane Supervisors preferred appeals to this Court
Allowing the appeals HELD 11 The High Court exceeded its jurisdiction in directing the merger of the posts of Ganna Gram Sewaks and Cane Supervisors
977E 12 The merger or bifurcation of a cadre is an executive act
It is for the State to consider whether two groups of persons working under two distinct posts perform the same kind of duties or not and whether in implementing the directive principle as contained in article 39d of the Constitution it is necessary to merge the two posts into one cadre or post
980AB 13 The principle of equal pay for equal work requires on the face of it that the work to be performed by two groups of persons must be equal
The Court may in such cases direct equal pay by way of removing unreasonable discrimina tion and treating the two groups similarly situated equal ly
977H 980CD In the instant case the nature of the duties that are performed by the members of the two categories of posts are different
The Ganna Gram Sewaks are responsible for prepa ration of progress report survey of
the cane areas and development programme
On the other hand Cane Supervisors are responsible for plant protection inputs godown and nurseries in the areas of Ganna Gram Sewaks
The 974 minimum qualification required for each post is also differ ent
Both of them function more or less independently
Furthermore the post of Cane Supervisor is a promotional post vis a vis the post of Ganna Gram Sewak
It will there fore be beyond the jurisdiction of the court to implement the principle of equal pay for equal work inasmuch as such implementation will practically result in the amalgamation of the two posts
978A 979EF 978B 979G 2
Under the Rules the minimum qualification required for the Ganna Gram Sewaks is High School or equivalent
So long as the Rules are amended and the minimum qualification is not enhanced to Intermediate in Agriculture the Cane Development Department of the State cannot prescribe or insist on a minimum qualification of Intermediate in Agri culture
The High Court therefore was not justified in relying upon the letter of the Cane Commissioner dated March 10 1975 in preference to the Rules framed  under Article 309 of the Constitution for taking the view that the minimum qualification for that post has been Intermediate in Agri culture since 1975
879CE 978H 3
Article 39d of the Constitution lays down the directive principle of equal pay for equal work for both men and women
The directive principles contained in Part IV of the Constitution are not enforceable in any court of law
It is a constitutional goal that has to be achieved at the instance of the State
979H 980A