Equality in pay fixation requires identical service benefits for similarly placed employees; arbitrary denial of revised scales was not justified.

Similarly placed non-teaching university employees cannot be denied revised pay scales and consequential monetary benefits when identical relief has already been granted to comparable employees without any rational basis. The refusal to extend the same service benefits, or to timely approve the statutory amendments needed for implementation, was found arbitrary and discriminatory because it treated equals unequally in pay fixation. The earlier order in favour of the employees was restored, and the claimed revised pay scales from 1 January 1977, with subsequent revisions and arrears, were granted.

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Issues: Whether the appellants, being similarly placed non-teaching employees of the University, were entitled to the revised pay scales from 1 January 1977 and subsequent revisions with consequential monetary benefits, and whether denial of the same was arbitrary and discriminatory.

Analysis: The earlier directions of the High Court had already resulted in grant of revised pay scales to identically placed employees. The appellants stood on the same footing and the refusal to extend the same benefit to them had no rational basis. The State and the University failed to show any satisfactory reason for withholding the benefit or for not promptly approving the statutory amendments required for implementation. In these circumstances, the differential treatment offended the guarantee of equality and amounted to arbitrary discrimination.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to the revised pay scales from 1 January 1977 and all subsequent revisions, together with arrears and consequential monetary benefits.

Final Conclusion: The impugned High Court judgment was set aside and the earlier order in favour of the appellants was restored, resulting in grant of the claimed pay-scale benefits.

Ratio Decidendi: Similarly placed employees cannot be denied identical service benefits without a rational basis, and differential treatment in pay fixation that is arbitrary and unexplained violates the constitutional guarantee of equality.

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