Pay parity must be extended to similarly situated employees from the date comparable employees receive the higher scale.

The applicants were selected through the J&K Service Selection Board pursuant to Advertisement Notice No. 03 of 2007 and appointed as Librarians in the ITI Sector in 2009 against nine posts created under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan by Government Order No. 132-Edu Tech of 2005 dated 4 October 2005.

Although the appointment orders specified the pay scale of ₹5,000–8,000, the applicants contended that the J&K Technical Education (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002, notified through SRO 145 dated 10 April 2002, prescribed the pay scale of ₹6,500–10,500 for Librarians in both the ITI and Polytechnic sectors.

Subsequently, SRO 742 dated 25 October 2019 placed the post of Librarian in Level L-6E (₹35,900–1,13,500), corresponding to the pre-revised scale of ₹6,500–10,500.

The applicants alleged that they were discriminated against because similarly situated Librarians appointed in 2023 were granted Level L-6E under Order No. 438 of 2023 dated 8 September 2023.

The respondents opposed the claim on the ground that the applicants had accepted appointment under the specific pay scale of ₹5,000–8,000 and that the Finance Department had rejected the proposed upgradation.

Whether the applicants were entitled to the pay scale of ₹6,500–10,500 under the 2002 Recruitment Rules, corresponding to Level L-6E under SRO 742 dated 25 October 2019, despite their initial appointment orders specifying ₹5,000–8,000?

Whether denial of the revised pay scale to the applicants, while granting it to similarly situated Librarians appointed in 2023, constituted arbitrary discrimination in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution?

Whether the applicants could claim the higher pay scale retrospectively from their dates of appointment in 2009, or only from the date on which similarly situated employees were granted the benefit?

The Tribunal applied the J&K Technical Education (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2002, notified by SRO 145 dated 10 April 2002, under which the post of Librarian in the common Category ‘C’ was assigned the pre-revised pay scale of ₹6,500–10,500.

It further applied SRO 742 dated 25 October 2019, which placed Librarians in the ITI Sector in Pay Level L-6E (₹35,900–1,13,500), corresponding to the pre-revised scale of ₹6,500–10,500.

The constitutional principles of equality and non-arbitrariness under Articles 14 and 16 prohibit the State from treating employees performing identical or substantially similar duties differently without a rational basis.

Relying on Union of India v. Dineshan K.K., (2008) 1 SCC 586, the Tribunal held that although pay fixation and equation of posts ordinarily fall within the executive domain, judicial intervention is permissible where unequal pay results from arbitrary or irrational State action.

It also relied on Union Territory of J&K v. Sandeep Kumar Sharma, W.P. No. 2456 of 2026, decided on 12 August 2026, for the principle that acceptance of an initial lower pay scale does not, by itself, bar an employee from claiming parity with similarly situated employees subsequently granted a higher scale.

The Tribunal found that the applicants and the later appointees held the same post of Librarian in the ITI Sector and were governed by the same service framework.

The 2002 Rules prescribed the scale of ₹6,500–10,500, and SRO 742 subsequently reflected the corresponding revised Level L-6E for the ITI post.

The respondents’ own communications confirmed that the nine posts were part of the permanent establishment and were covered by SRO 742, while also recommending parity with the Librarians appointed on 8 September 2023.

Consequently, the applicants’ continued placement in the lower scale of ₹5,000–8,000 lacked a rational basis and amounted to discriminatory treatment under Articles 14 and 16.

The Tribunal rejected the argument that the applicants’ acceptance of the appointment terms constituted acquiescence, but limited retrospective monetary relief because the applicants had not approached the competent forum earlier for correction of the anomaly.

The respondents were directed to extend to the applicants the benefit of SRO 742 dated 25 October 2019 by granting them Pay Level L-6E (₹35,900–1,13,500), corresponding to the pre-revised scale of ₹6,500–10,500, at par with the Librarians appointed in 2023.

Their pay was to be upgraded and all consequential service benefits granted with effect from 8 September 2023, but not from their original dates of appointment in 2009.

The exercise was to be completed within three months of receipt of the certified copy of the order; delayed monetary benefits would carry interest at 6% per annum from the date they became due until payment.

No order as to costs was made.