NAVIN SINHA, J - (1.) The Petitioners seek mandamus under Article 32 of the Constitution, for grant of pay scale on the basis of parity as granted by this Court on 21.10.2010 to the appellants in Yogeshwar Prasad and Ors. vs. National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration and Ors. (in short, "National Institute"), (2010) 14 SCC 323.
(2.) It is the contention of the petitioners that they are similarly situated as the appellants in Yogeshwar Prasad (supra), working in the National Institute and are therefore also entitled to the benefit of Regulation 4(2) of the National Institute Regulations for grant of pay scale at par with that being given to persons holding similar posts in the Central Government. The petitioners have been pursuing the matter with the respondents by filing representations since 2015 and were assured that their claims were under consideration till it was finally rejected on 05.02.2018. Even while the respondents contend that this Court had confined the relief to the appellants only in the aforesaid appeal, nonetheless they have themselves granted similar relief to four other persons who were not parties to the appeal, by order dated 02.11.2012. The petitioners have therefore been subjected to arbitrary and hostile discrimination.
(3.) The respondents have denied entitlement to relief on the basis of parity. It is their contention that the petitioners are not similarly situated as the appellants in Yogeshwar Prasad (supra) or those granted relief on the basis of the same.;