Holding

Agragamies and firemen/leaders do not perform similar duties; therefore, they are not similarly situated and the equal pay principle does not apply.

Summary

The respondents, Agragamies of the West Bengal Civil Emergency Force, filed writ petitions seeking the same pay scale as firemen and leaders of the West Bengal Fire Service, arguing that they were similarly situated in terms of recruitment, qualifications and duties. The State Government contended that the two categories performed distinct functions and that the Pay Commission’s lower scale for Agragamies was neither discriminatory nor violative of Articles 14 and 16. The Calcutta High Court Single Judge allowed the petition, and the Division Bench affirmed, holding that the Agragamies performed more onerous duties. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the two groups performed similar work for the purpose of equal remuneration and concluded that the nature of duties, responsibilities and functions of Agragamies differed from those of firemen/leaders. Consequently, the Court held that there was no violation of the equal pay principle and set aside the High Court judgments. The appeal was allowed.

Issues considered

Whether Agragamies and firemen/leaders are similarly situated for the purpose of equal remuneration under Articles 14, 16 of the Constitution and the Equal Remuneration Act.
Whether the difference in pay scales amounts to discrimination prohibited by the Constitution.
Whether similarity in academic qualifications and training is sufficient to establish "equal work" for equal pay.
Whether the Pay Commission's recommendations are binding and preclude a claim of unequal pay.

Legislation cited

Subjects

equal payequal remunerationArticles 14 and 16discriminationcivil emergency forcefire servicepay scaleWest Bengal

Judgment

STATE OF WEST BENGAL AND ORS. A
i--· v.
MADAN MOHAN SEN AND ORS.

FEBRUARY 3, 1993

[K JAYACHANDRA REDDY AND B.P. JEEVAN REDDY, JJ.) B

Constitution of India, 1950--;4.rticles 14 and 16--;4.gragami of West
Bengal Civil Emergency Force and Fireman and leaders of West Bengal Fire
Service -whether situated similarly-£qual pay on equal work, whether ap-
plicable.
c
Civil Service-West Bengal Civil Emergency Force-Post of Agragami
-Claim for higher pay scale at par with the Fireman and Leaders in the West
Bengal Fire Service -Legality of-£qual pay for equal work -,4pplication of
~
The respondents in this Civil Appeal were working as Agragamies.
They filed Writ Petitions before the High Court, claiming that, since they D
were similarly placed to the Firemen and Leaders in the West Bengal Fire
Service, they must be given the same pay scale as was admissible to the
said Firemen and Leaders. The State Government denied the claim on the
ground that the duties and functions performed by the respondents and
.J.. . the Firemen and leaders were totally different and distinct• E
The Writ Petition was allowed by a Single Judge. The Government
preferred an appeal before the Division Bench of the High Court.

The Division Bench, on a comparison of the academic qualifications
and physical requiremenis found that the ·~ies were in no way F
differently situated from the Firemen/Leaden ID the West Bengal Fire
Service and that the Agragamies performed more onerous duties and thus
their claim for higher pay Scale was perfectly just and proper. Affirming
the decision of the Learned Single Judge, the Division Bench dismissed the
Writ Appeal. G
The State filed tire present Appeal by Special Leave challenging the
...! Judgment of the DiviSIOO Bench of the High Court, contending that the
Agragamies and Firemen/Leaders in The Fire Service Department of West
Bengal were not similarly situated in the matter of recruitment, conditions
of setvlceaad duties and responsibilities discharged, that the Fire-fighting H
397
398 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993) 1 S.C.R.
A training given to the Agragamies was in no way similar to the one imparted
to Firemen/Leaders. That the Services of Agragamies were indented upon
by the Fire Sen·ices Department only in times of emergency or acute need
and as such they could not be equalled with other categories in these
departments that the Pay Commission had prescribed a lower pay Scale
for the Agragamies which was neither discriminatory nor it amounted to
B
treating equals unequally.

Respondents submitted that in fact Agragamies performed more
onerous duties than firemen/leaders and they do not lag behind in the
matter of academic qualification or physical requirements for recruitment,
C that having regard to the nature of duties and responsibilities performed
. by them the Agragamies were justly entitled to the higher scale granted to
them by the High Court.

Allowing the appeal, this court,

D HELD : 1.01. It would be evident from a comparison of. the nature
of duties, responsibilities and functions of the Agragamies and
Firemen/Leaders of Fire Service Department that they are neither same or
similar. The firemen and leaders are the members of the Fire Service
Department whereas the Agragamies are members of West Bengal Civil
E Emergency Force meant as an auxiliary force to assist the various Govern·
ment departments and agencies in times of emergency and acute need. No .,..L..
doubt they are also members of a Government Service and they too have
to report to their office and be available for ~uch duties as they may be
called upon to perform, but it would not be correct to say that they perform
the same or similar duties as that of Firemen or Leaders of the Fire Service
F Department. [403G-H, 404A)

1.02. There is hound to be.a difference in the quality of Fire righting . ,....._
job of both of them. Firemen and leaders are a specialised fire fighting
force while the Agragamies are, so to speak 'jacks of all trades' having been
G given elementary training in various fields. When called upon to assist,
Agragamies assist .fire-fighting personnel including firemen and leaders
just as they assist personnel of other department. It is idle to contend that
they perform the same duties and functions as firemen/leaders. (4048-C)

1.03. Merely because the academic qualification and physical re·
H quirement of both are similar or that the Agragamies are also given a
STATE OF WEST BENGAL v. MADAN SEN [REDDY, J.] 399
certain lire-lighting training alongwith other training, it cannot be said A
that they perform similar duties, functions and responsibilities as the
firemen/leaders. [404E]
•
1.04. The respondents have failed to establish the crucial facts
entitling them to the higher pay-scale. They have also failed to prove that
they are discriminated in any manner in the matter of pay. [404F] B

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 405 of
1993.

From the Judgment and Order dated 21.11.90 of the Calcutta High
Court in F.M.A.T. No. 1841 of 1986. c
G. Ramaswamy, Santosh Hegde, D.K. Sinha and J.R. Das for the
Appellants.

S.K. Bandhopadhyay and Somnath Mukherjee for the respondents.
D
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

B.P. JEEVAN REDDY, J. Heard the counsel for the parties. Leave
granted.

The appeal is directed against the judgment of the Division Bench
E
of Calcutta High Court affirming the judgment of the learned Single Judge
declaring that 'Agragamies' in West Bengal Civil Emergency Force are
entitled to be placed in the scale of Rs. 280-617 on par with the Fireman
in the West Bengal Fire Service. Agragamies were in the scale of Rs.
230-414. The said pay scales have since been revised to Rs. 980-1756 and F
Rs. 830-1357 respectively. The relief has been granted applying the
doctrine of equal pay for equal work.

The recruitment and conditions of service of the West Bengal Civil
Emergency Force (W.B.C.E.F.) are governed by West Bengal Subordinate
Services and Subordinate Other Services (Recruitment of Employees of the G
West Bengal Civil Emergency Force) Rules, 1975. It consists of several
categories including Agragamies. The posts of Agragamies are to be filled
by ·direct recruitment, preference being given to trained West Bengal
National Volunteers Force Personnel or ex-service personnei. The educa-
tional qualification prescribed is upto Class VI standard. Certain physical H
400 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [lm) 1 S.C.R.
A standards are also prescribed besides the age requirement. According to
the supplementary affidavit filed on behalf of the Government of West
Bengal in this court, there are no prescribed duties and responsibilities for
Agragamies. They are meant as primary units of the Civil Emergency Force
of the State Government. Their services are generally requisitioned for
assisting the various State Agencies in emergency situations. Their assis-
B tance is taken by police personnel in maintenance of law and order and at
the time of elections. Other authorities too take their assistance in the case
of natural calamities like flood and storms. They are also indented upon
by fire-fighting personnel in case of major fire and other natural calamities.
U oder normal conditions, Agragamies are confined to their respective
C camps and asked to perform the duties of santries. According to the letter
dated 223.1984 written by the Commandant, W.B.C.E.F., Howrah to the
Deputy Secretary to the Government of West Bengal and Ex-Officio Joint
Director of Civil Defence, the duties performed by the Agragamies are
manifold. Their assistance is taken even during the international tourna-
D ments, visits of V.I.Ps. and foreign dignitaries, in loading and unloading of
essential commodities during emergency, garbage clearance, pump opera-
tion during flood and drought, fire fighting, first-aid duty, Inoculation and
vaccination and so on and so forth. In March 1984, their total strength is
stated to be 558.

E The above material establishes that this force does not have any
prescribed duties and that they are employed as auxiliary cadres by several
departments of the Government in case of emergency and acute need. For
this purpose, it appears, the Agragamies are made to undergo several types
of training viz., West Bengal National Volunteers Force training, fire-fight-
F ing training, special board training, electrical training, wirele;;. training and
training in driving the vehicles. As stated above, they were placed in the
scale of Rs. 230-414 (since revised to Rs. 830-1357). It also appears that as
and when vacancies in the cadre of firemen and leaders in the West Bengal
Fire Service and other categories in other departments arise. Agragamies
are absorbed therein s.ubject to their eligibility and suitability.

The Agragamies, hereinafter referred to as "respondents', filed a writ
petition in the Calcutta High Court being C.R. No. 15583(W) of 1981
seeking a higher pay scale whiclt writ petition was disposed of on Augu5t
17, 1982 by a learned Single Judge. The learned Single Judge directed the
H respondents (writ petitioners therein) to make a representation to the State
STATE OF WEST BENGAL v. MADAN SEN [REDDY, J.] 401
Government giving the particulars of their training and nature of work. The A
State Government was directed to consider the said representation within
four months in accordance with law. The respondents accordingly made a
representation but no decision was taken by the State Government within
four months. They again approached the High Court with another writ
petition being C.R. No. 6755 (W) of 1983. Their case was that since in the B
matter of educational qualifications, mode of recruitment, conditions of
service and duties and responsibilities they are similarly placed to firemen
and leaders in the West Bengal Fire Service, they must be given the same
pay scale as is admissible to the said firemen and leaders, namely the scale
of Rs. 280-617 (since revised to Rs. 980-1756). This was opposed by the
State Government. According to the government, the various pay scales C
recommended by the Pay Commission, an expert body, had been accepted
by the government, and hence there is no room for complaining of any
discrimination. They submitted that the duties, functions and respon-
sibilities performed by the respondents on one hand and the firemen and
leaders in the Fire Service Departments on the other are totally different D
and distinct and that there "can be no comparison between both the
categories.

The writ pellhon was allowed by a learned Single Judge by his
judgment and order dated 19th May, 1986. The learned Single Judge
directed the State Government extend the scale of Rs. 280-617 to the E
respondents with effect from April 1, 1981 together with arrears payable
within twelve weeks from the date of communication of the said order to
the State Government. The Government of West Bengal preferred an
appeal against the judgment of the learned Single Judge. The Division
_Bench found, on a comparison of the academic qualifications and physical F
requirements that the Agragamies are in no way differently situated from
the firemen/leaders in the West Bengal Fire Service and that indeed
Agragamies performed more onerous . duties and that, therefore, their
claim for the said higher pay scale were perfectly just and proper. The
Division Bench expressed the following opinion finally :
G
"It, however, appears to us that Firemen and the leaders
being associated with the Fire Services are to render
primarily fire fighting duties and therefore the nature of
duties and functions performed by them cannot be strictly
the same duties and functions as performed by H
402 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ll993J 1 S.C.R.

A Agragamies but the fact remains that the Agragamies are
also to render services are also requisitioned for fighting
the fire besides and it cannot be contended that they are
not discharging similar duties and functions in fighting the
fire. It also appears to us that as a matter of fact, they are
discharging duties and functions which may be more
B onerous than the duties and functions being performed by
the Firemen of the West Bengal Fire Services."

Accordingly, the decision of the learned Single Judge was affirmed
and the writ appeal dismissed.
c
In this appeal, it is submitted by Sri G. Ramaswamy, learned counsel
for the State of West Bengal that the Agragamies and firemen/leaders in
the Fire Service Department of West Bengal are not similarly situated
whether in the matter of recruitment, conditions of service or duties and
D responsibilities discharged. Counsel pointed out that Agragamies are
eligible for being absorbed in the category of firemen/leaders in case of
vacancies subject to their eligibility and suitability which shows that they
are inferior to firemen/leaders' category. May be that Agragamies are given
various types of training so as to enable them to assist the various State
Agencies, one of them being fire-fighting training but the said training is
E in no way similar to the one imparted to firemen/leaders. It is submitted
that the Pay Commission which is an expert body has prescribed a different
but lower scale for Agragamies than the firemen/leaders and it cannot be
said that the scale so prescribed is either discriminatory or that it amounts
to treating equals unequally. Only in times of emergency or acute need,
F services of Agragamies are indented upon by Fire Service Department also
just like any other department of the State. For that reason, th.ey cannot
be equated with one or the other category in those departments, it is
submitted. Strong reliance is placed upon a recent decision of this court in
State of Madhya Pradesh v. Pramod Bhartiya, (1992) 5 J.T.653 to which one
of us (B.P. Jeevan Reddy, J.) was a party.
G
On the other band, the learned counsel for the respondents sought
to sustain and justify the decision of the learned Single Judge as well as
the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court. He submitted that in fact
Agragamies performed more.onerous duties than firemen/leaders and they
H do not lag behind in the matter of academic qualification or physical
STATE OF WEST BENGAL v. MADAN SEN [REDDY, J.] 403
requirements for recruitment. It is submitted that having regard to the A
nature of the duties and responsibilities performed by them the
" . -~
~
Agragamies are justly entitled to the higher scale granted to them by the
--i.;.J
High Court.

In Pramod Bhtlltiya, it was held, after a review of several earlier
judgments of this court that what is really material is whether two
B
categories performed similar functions and discharged similar duties and
responsibilities and not whether their qualifications and/or service condi-
)' tions are similar. The definition of the expression 'same work or work of
similar nature" contained in clause (h) of Section 2 of Equal Remuneration
Act, 1956 was relied upon as providing a guidance in the matter of c
determination whether the duties, functions and responsibilities of two
categories can be said to be same or similar. It Wds also emphasised that
the quality of work may vary from post to post and institution to institution
and that a realistic view should be taken in such matters. Let us examine
,4., the facts of this case from the aforesaid point of view. We have already set
D
out the duties and functions of Agragamies. Now let us examine the duties
and functions performed by firemen/leaders in the Fir'~- Service Depart-
ment of the West Bengal Service. They are set out in Annexure 'D' to the
. supplementary affidavit filed by the Government of West Bengal in this
matter. These duties include the duty at the fire station, to keep the fire
station premises including appliances, rooms, offices, workshops etc. clean E
,.l and tidy, to keep himself in readiness to attend to fire and other emergency
at shortest possible time, to keep himself acquainted with the topography
of his own and adjoining areas as well as fire risk in such areas, to carry
out proper maintenance and handling of equipment and other implements,
to inspect the fire appliances and to keep them in a workable condition, F
. perform parade and drills as per schedule routine and to attend all kinds
of demonstration and training, to perform guard/santry duty at the fire
~ station and so on. They have to perform both night duty and day duty as
may be assigned to them and even on Sundays in their turn.

It would be evident from a comparison of the nature of duties, G
responsibilities and functions of the Agragamies and firemen/leaders of fire
Service Department that they are neither same nor similar. The firemen
,_._
and leaders are the members of the Fire Service Department whereas the
Agragamies are members of West Bengal Civil Emergency Force meant as
an auxiliary force to assist the various government departments and agen- H.
404 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993] 1 S.C.R.
\
A . des in times of emergency and acute need. No doubt they are also
members of a government service and they too have to report to their office
and be available for such duties as they may be called upon to perform.
But it would not be correct to say that they perform the same or similar
duties as that of firemen or leaders of the Fire Service Department. There
B is bound to be a difference in the quality of fire-fighting job of both of
them. Firemen and leaders are a specialised fire-fighting force while the -
Agragamies are, so to speak 'jacks of all trades' having been given elemen-
tary training in various fields. When called upon to assist, Agragamies assist
fire-fighting personnel. including firemen and leaders just as they assist 'lt:
personnel of other departments. It is idle to contend that they perform the
C same duties and functions as firemen/leaders. They assist not only the Fire
Service Department but police department, Municipal Authorities, Medi-
cal and Health Authorities, Social Service Department and so on and so
forth. It is not clear as to why the respondents have picked upon the
particular category of firemen/leaders of Fire Service Department to claim
D a particular higher pay scale. It is not as if they are attached to Fire Service -~
Department. As stated rightly by the learned counsel for the State, the
Agragamies are eligible for absorption as firemen/leaders in the Fire
Service Department, in the case of vacancies being available, subject to
eligibility and suitability. They are governed by different service conditions
and merely because the academic qualifications and physical requirements
E of both are similar or that the Agragamies are also given a certain fire-
fighting training along with other training, it cannot be said that they
perform similar duties, functions and responsibilities as the
firemen/leaders. The respondents have failed to establish the crucial facts
entitling them to the higher pay-scale. They have also failed to prove that
F they are discriminated in any manner in the matter of pay.

For the above reasons, the appeal is allowed and the judgment of the
learned Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court and the judgment of the
Division Bench affirming it are set ·aside. There shall be no order as to
costs.
G
This order does not preclude the Government of West Bengal from
extending a higher pay scale to the respondent's category if it is found
w.arranted.

B.V.B.D. Appeal allowed.
•