- (1.) In this writ application the following reliefs have been prayed for :- (a) to issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith confer upon the Sanitary Inspectors of the Municipalities all the benefits of service including the pay scale and retiral benefits at par with the sanitary inspectors of the State Government ; (b) to issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith remove the anomalies in the pay scale and the conditions and benefits of service including the retiral benefits between the sanitary inspectors of the municipalities and the sanitary inspectors of the State Government ; (c) to issue a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith act at par and implement the said declared policy of the State Government, their declarations and commitments and the said Gazette Notification dated 24.3.1976 (Annexure "A") by conferring upon the sanitary inspectors of the municipalities with all the benefits of service including the pay scale and retiral benefits equal to those of the sanitary inspectors of the State Government ; (d) to issue a rule Nisi in terms of clauses (a), (b) and (c) above ; (e) to pass appropriate orders and/or directions upon the respondents to allow the petitioners, the sanitary inspectors of the Municipalities to enjoy the pay scale and all other benefits of service including the retiral benefits equal to those of the sanitary inspectors of the State Government during pendency of the said rule ; (f) to make the said rule absolute; (g) to allow cost of and incidental to this application ; (h) to issue such other appropriate writ or writs or pass such further or other order or orders as to Your Lordship may seem fit and proper."
(2.) In course of hearing the writ petitioners filed a further Supplementary Affidavit annexing various documents to show the justification of their claim of identical pay scale as being enjoyed by the Sanitary Inspector, Group A in West Bengal Subordinate Health Services (Non-Medical TechnicalPersonnel). The main writ application and the supplementary affidavit have been dealt with by filing affidavits by Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 jointly. Affidavit-in-Reply also has been filed by the writ petitioners.
(3.) The facts leading to the writ application are to this effect :- "The writ petitioners are appointees in the different posts of Sanitary Inspectors in different Municipalities in the State of West Bengal on being appointed on diverse dates starting from the year 1964 to the year 1989 as mentioned in detail in Paragraph 3 of the writ application. It is contended in the writ petition that all appointees passed Sanitary Inspectorship Certificate from the authorized institutions and thereafter they were recruited in the respective posts of the different Municipalities. By Government Notification issued by the Department of Municipal Services, Government of West Bengal being Resolution No. 759/LSG-4H-16/76 dated 19th March, 1976, the services of all such Municipal employees were brought at per with the services of the comparable ranks of Government employees including their financial benefits. This resolution was duly published in the Calcutta Gazette Extra Ordinary in its publication dated 24th March, 1976. All the writ petitioners claimed through their association who is Petitioner No. 1 herein, the pay scale of Sanitary Inspector available to the counterpart, Sanitary Inspectors working in the State Government Service by enjoying Grade-l pay scale. The Anomaly Committee was constituted who recommended in favour of upgradation of pay scale to make the pay scale at par with the Grade-l Sanitary Inspectors of West Bengal Subordinate Health Services (Non-Medical Technical Personnel) hereinafter for brevity referred to as Subordinate Health Services of Government of West Bengal. But the Government did not agree to such and matter was subsequently referred to the 4th Pay Commission, who rejected the claim about grant of said Grade-l pay scale being the pay scale No.10 but allowed the pay scale No.9 in favour of the petitioners as was being enjoyed by them by holding, inter alia, that in the Subordinate Health Services of Government of West Bengal under Group B service under the heading "Sanitary and Field Services", there are three grades, namely, Grade-l, II and III and the post of Grade-l Sanitary Inspectors being a promotional post filled up with the ratio of 1:3:6 of the respective grades, the writ petitioners are not coming at par with the Grade-1 Sanitary Inspectors, the promotee, in terms of the said ratio and gradation. Petitioners' contention in this writ application is that they are performing the identical works with the counterpart of Grade-l Sanitary Inspectors of the said Subordinate Health Services and the respondents illegally denied such pay scale.";