DEO PRASAD YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application has been filed for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to pay to the petitioners the same scale of pay and all other allowances as are being paid to the employees of the Bihar State Co -operative Milk Producers Federation Ltd.

(2.) IT is the stand of the petitioners that an advertisement was published in the daily newspaper Aaj inviting applications for appointment to various posts including the post of technicians by the Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Ltd. (for short COMFED). According to the advertisement the scale of pay of the technician was Rs. 580 -Rs. 860 and the minimum qualification prescribed was an I.T.I. Certificate in mechanical, electrical or refrigeration trade. Preference was to be given to those candidates who had three years experience in any reputed organisation. Further stand of the petitioner is that in response to the said advertisement some of them applied for the said post of technician and were called for the interview. According to the petitioners interview letter dated 1.6.1990 (Annexure -2) was issued to petitioner no. 12 Md. Kafil Hassan for the post of technician and accordingly he had appeared in the interview. Petitioner has further averred that petitioner no. 18 was appointed to the post of Refrigeration Technician by order dated 1.6.1991 (Annexure -3) which was casual in nature and was made by the Contractor on contract basis. It is the stand of the petitioners that petitioner no. 18 Om Prasad Singh was appointed by the Managing Director of Vaishal Patliputra Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Sangh Ltd. (for short the Sangh) by order dated 23.8.1995 (Annexure -4) to the post of Assistant Technician. It is the grievance of the petitioners that no post of Assistant Technician is existing or ever existed in the past but they joined on the post of Assistant Technician in the scale of Rs. 975 -Rs. 1540. It is their claim that work taken from them is akin to the post of technician and as such they were entitled to be given the scale of pay of Rs. 1200 - Rs. 1800 and after the 5th Pay Revision in the scale of Rs. 4000 - Rs. 6000 but the said pay scale is not being given to them. Petitioners stand is that in the technician grade only two categories of technicians exist i.e. junior technician and technician.

(3.) COUNTER affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent no. 7 in which it has been stated that the petitioners were earlier working as contractors labour and discharging the duties of skilled and semi skilled labour of the contractor in the Sangh. It has been further stated that the posts of Assistant Technician were sanctioned and for selecting persons to the post of Assistant Technician a committee was constituted. The committee decided to offer the post of Assistant Technician to such skilled and semi skilled workers like the petitioners after due test. The committee tested the inter se merit of the candidates including the petitioners and they were recommended for appointment on different date In pursuance of the said recommendations petitioners were appointed to the posts of Assistant Technician in the Sangh, Respondent no. 7 has further averred that the petitioners are performing the duties of Assistant Technicians under the control and supervision of the technician which is quite a separate class and cadre having different responsibilities, control etc. Thus the plea of the respondent no. 7 is that petitioners cannot equate themselves with that of technician and further their claim that in sum and substance they were appointed as technicians is unsustainable in the eye of law.