W.P(C) No.13784/2009 Page 1 of 5 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P. (C.) No.13784/2009 % Date of Decision: 11.12.2009 Municipal Corporation of Delhi …. Petitioner Through Mr.Sanjeev Sabharwal, Standing counsel for MCD with Mr.Alok Singh, Advocate Versus Mahinder Singh & Others …. Respondents Through Nemo. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE VIPIN SANGHI 1. Whether reporters of Local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? YES 2. To be referred to the reporter or not? NO 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? NO ANIL KUMAR, J. * The petitioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, has impugned the order dated 15th May, 2009 in TA No.230 of 2009, Dharam Singh and another v. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and TA No.251 of 2009, Mahinder Singh and others v. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi directing the petitioner to grant to the respondents the same pay scale which is paid to the Security Guards who are attached to the Hospitals of the petitioner, and fixing the pay of the respondents in the scale of Rs.210-250/- with effect from 9th W.P(C) No.13784/2009 Page 2 of 5 December, 1985. However, payment of the arrears of the said scale has been restricted from the actual date of filing of the writ petitions by the respondents. The respondents had been appointed as Chowkidars in the pay scale of Rs.196-232. In 2002 they came to know that Security Guards and Gunmen who had similar duties and who were interchangeable with the Chowkidars but who were attached to the Hospital were getting higher pay scales. It transpired that Security Guards and Gunmen in the Departments attached to the Hospitals were granted higher pay scales pursuant to the resolution dated 17th May, 1985. The respondents also relied on the orders passed in writ petition No.1610-18 of 2005 filed by some other Chowkidars claiming parity with the Security Guards and Gunmen having higher pay scale which was allowed by the High Court by order dated 20th February, 2006. Letters patent appeal filed by the petitioner against the said order has also been dismissed. The writ petitions filed by the respondents were transferred to the Tribunal and renumbered as TA No.230/2009 and 251/2009 upon jurisdiction in respect of service matters of MCD employees being vested in the Tribunal. The petitioners had contested the transfer applications on the ground that respondents were appointed pursuant to specific W.P(C) No.13784/2009 Page 3 of 5 recruitment rules promulgated on 23rd May, 1974 to the post of Chowkidars in the pay scale of 70-85 which was revised to Rs.196-232. It was contended that after almost a decade they cannot contend that they are entitled to better pay scale and their claim is barred by limitation. Regarding the judgment of the High court in case of similarly placed Chowkidars who had also claimed parity with the Security Guards and Gunmen, the petitioner contended that the High court had not gone into the details, and consequently the benefits which was granted to Chowkidars who had filed the writ petition cannot be extended to Chowkidars in the present writ petitions. The relief prayed by the respondents was also opposed on the ground that the work is not identical and basic qualification for employment are different. The petitioner cannot refute that the Chowkidars in the caretaker departments can be exchanged with the Security Guards and Gunmen deployed in the hospitals of the petitioner as the jobs are interchangeable. In the circumstances, the petitioner cannot contend that their work is not identical on the basis of difference of qualification. The judgment passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No.1601-18 of 2005 on 20th February, 2006 cannot be distinguished by the petitioner on the ground that the High Court had not gone into the details. The Letters patent appeal filed by the petitioner has already been dismissed and the said decision has attained finality. Therefore, the Tribunal was justified in W.P(C) No.13784/2009 Page 4 of 5 relying on the order of the High court dated 20th February, 2002 and granting notionally the same pay scale to the respondents which is granted to the Security Guards and Gunmen of the petitioner who are attached to the Hospitals. The petitioner has also failed to make out a case for creating a different class of Chowkidars in the pay scale of Rs.196-232 vis a vis Security Guards and Gunmen in the pay scale of Rs.210-250. The resolution of the petitioner dated 17th May, 1985 could not be the sole basis for granting a better pay scale to the Security Guards and Gunmen in MCD Hospitals and not granting the pay scale of Rs.210-250/- to the Chowkidars in the caretaker department who had been given a pay scale of Rs.196-232/-. In the circumstances, the order of the Tribunal cannot be faulted and there are no grounds to interfere with the same. Regarding the plea of the limitation for the claims of the respondent, we find no merit in the petitioners submission as the arrears have been granted to the respondents from the date of filing of their respective writ petitions and not from the date notional pay scales have granted to the respondents. Reference may be made to the Supreme Court decision in M.R.Gupta v. Union of India, 1995(5) SCC 628. In the circumstances, the Tribunal’s order dated 15th May, 2009 does not suffer from any irregularity or illegality which will require interference by this court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 W.P(C) No.13784/2009 Page 5 of 5 of the Constitution of India. The writ petition, in the facts and circumstances, is without any merit and it is, therefore, dismissed. ANIL KUMAR, J. December 11, 2009 VIPIN SANGHI, J. ‘Dev’