Full Judgment Text
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CASE NO.:
Appeal (civil) 6238-39 of 1994
PETITIONER:
GABRIEL SAVER FERNANDES AND ORS.
RESPONDENT:
STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/09/1994
BENCH:
K. RAMASWAMY & N. VENKATACHALA
JUDGMENT:
JUDGMENT
1994 SUPPL. (3) SCR 105
The following Order of the Court was delivered : Leave granted.
It is contended for the appellants that as per the directions, issued by
the High Court in Writ Petition No. 1173/62, dated March 4, 1965, the High.
Court had struct down the rules holding that there cannot be any
distinction between the Talatis and Village Accountants. They cannot be
clubbed together and they constitute different categories and that, there-
fore, they are entitled to separate scales of pay. When they claimed the
scale of pay on the basis of revised pay scales at Rs. 90-200 instead of
Rs, 80-145, the Tribunal has committed illegality in not considering the
distinction and that therefore, the appellants are not entitled to the
benefit of the payment of scale of pay of Rs, 90-200 as per 1970 Rules
w.e.f. January 1, 1970.
It would appear that the Government made a distinction between Talatis and
Village Accountants who possessed SSLC qualification and those who are non-
SSLC candidates. For the candidates who are having SSLC qualification, pay
scale of Rs. 90-200 has been provided for. Admittedly, the appellants are
not in that category as they are non-SSLC candidates. The Government,
therefore, thought it expedient to make a distinction between qualified and
unqualified persons and prescribed different scales of pay. Hence, we do
not find any invidious discrimination made between the two categories to
club together and grant them same scale of pay of Rs, 90-200. However,
since the appellants have already been paid the scale of pay of Rs. 90-200
while they were in service and are retired now, it would be appropriate
that the Government may not recover from Diem the salary which they had
already received though they are not to the scale of pay of Rs. 90-200.
The appeals are accordingly dismissed. No Costs.