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The right to “equal pay for equal work” is constitutionally protected: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The right to “equal pay for equal work” is constitutionally protected, is upheld by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh through the learned Judge JUSTICE CHANDER BHUSAN BAROWALIA, in the case of Rattan Lal Bhardwaj son of Late Sh. Shankar Ram. v. state of Himachal Pradesh and others (C.W.P. No. 6133 of 2019)

 

Brief facts of the case:

The petitioner has, among other things, challenged the impugned decision by which this Court admitted his petition, by judgment, with a directive to the respondent-department to evaluate the petitioner’s case in light of the judgements delivered by this Court in P.K. Kaushal vs. State of HP. The petition further claims that because the petitioner’s case was not examined, he was forced to submit an execution petition. Respondent-department denied the petitioner’s claim in response to the execution petition. As a result, the execution petition was dismissed by this Court, leaving the petitioner free to dispute the aforementioned rejection judgment.

Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner has claimed that the defendants have not provided the petitioner with the same pay scale as similarly situated individuals in the Technical Education Department.

Mr. Arvind Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, has argued that the Education Department has different pay scales than the Technical Education Department, and thus the pay scale cannot be granted to the petitioner, because the Assistant Librarians who were granted pay scales equivalent to the Education Department and who were working in the Technical Department were previously working in the Education Department, which is why the scale was granted.

JUDGEMENT:

After considering the circumstances of the case, the Court determined that the petitioner, who works as a Librarian in the Technical Education Department, is entitled to the same pay scale as the Assistant Librarians in the Education Department, as well as all other benefits.

The Court noted that the petitioner’s tasks and responsibilities are the same as those of the Assistant Librarians who were given a higher pay grade and worked in the Technical Education Department, and so the petitioner cannot be denied equal compensation for equal labor.

JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY – HARILAKSHMI

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