Sis Pal Singh And Ors. vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors.
2005 Latest Caselaw 1250 Del

JUDGMENT

Mukundakam Sharma, J

1. The issue that arises for our consideration in this writ petition is whether the cooks working in Delhi Police are entitled to claim and receive ration money allowance as is given to other cooks working in Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force and such other para-military forces.

2. The petitioners are working as cooks in Delhi Police. They are, therefore, Class-I V employees in Delhi Police and are governedby the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965. Prior to 7.6.1989, the cooks in Delhi Police were not subject to doing any physical training and parade and were also not required to do the foot drills. From 7.6.89 by an order passed, the said Cooks were made to undergo training to improve discipline in Class-IV employees(Cooks). They are also given training in foot drill, yoga etc. It is the contention of the petitioners that the service conditions of the cooks in Delhi Police are similar to all other Cooks in various other para-military forces which also are within the Central Police organisations like the BSF, CRPF, RPF etc. It is contended that the Cooks in the aforesaid para-military forces get ration money allowance and, therefore, the petitioners could and should not have been deprived from getting the said allowance. It was also pleaded that earlier the said ration money allowance was not available to Constables, Head Constables and Sub Inspectors of Delhi Police but subsequently the same was made available to Constables, H.Cs and S.Is by a specific order and, therefore, it was submitted that there is no reasonable ground to deny the same benefit to the cooks. In fact reliance was sought to be placed by the said cooks on a letter written by the Commissioner of Police to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi to make available ration money allowance to Class-IV employees also @ Rs. 570/- per month on the pattern of Central Police organisations so as to remove disparity and avoid resentment amongst them.

3. Apparently the said recommendation was not accepted and, therefore, the cooks of Delhi Police filed an Original Application before the Central Administrative Tribunal seeking removal of such disparity and for payment of the ration money allowance to the cooks of the Delhi Police also. The learned Tribunal after considering the facts and circumstances of the case, dismissed the application holding that the case of the cooks in Delhi Police cannot be equated with the cooks of other para-military forces belonging to the Central Police organisations as their service conditions including the working conditions are distinctly separate and have no parity. Being aggrieved by the said order, the present petition was filed in this Court on which we have heard the learned Counsel appearing for the parties.

4. The issue which arises for our consideration in this writ petition is spelt out right at the beginning of this judgment and order. We, therefore, propose to answer the aforesaid issue after recording our findings and conclusions thereon. Strong reliance was placed by the petitioners on the recommendation made by the Commissioner of Police to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi in his letter dated 17th August, 1998. By placing reliance on the same it was sought to be submitted that working conditions and requirements of the cooks belonging to the Central Police organisations and the Delhi Police being the same, there is no reasonable ground to make a distinction between the similarly situated persons doing the same kind of work.

5. The cooks working in Delhi Police are Class-IV employees and the petitioners who are Cooks in Delhi Police are governed by the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965. The said Cooks do not fall within the category of combatised force and they are all along being treated as non-combatised force. Merely because they are being given same sort of training, the said Class-IV employees like the cooks would not get the status of combatised force. The police personnel have to undergo a very extensive and rigorous kind of training whereas the cooks have to undergo training only for a period of about one month and therefore, merely because a training is undergone by the cooks, it cannot be said that they become part of the combatised force.

6. By a judgment dated 9.10.1998, this Court in WP(C) No. 2968/95 : 75 (1998) DLT 783 (DB) has held that the ration money allowance shall have to be granted to the police personnel with effect from 1.1.1986. The petitioners are also claiming the same benefit for themselves. The Delhi Police personnel to whom the aforesaid benefit is being made available belong to the combatised force and they are governed by Delhi Police Act. The cooks, however, being Class-IV employees of the Delhi Police are governed by the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965. The order dated 26.9.2000 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India indicates that sanction of the President was given to the Government contribution towards ration money allowance payable to combatised non-gazetted personnel of BSF, CISF, ITBP and CRPF as applicable to army personnel when they are deployed alongside the army/ahead of the army on international border. The said ration money allowance per month was inade available to all the non-gazetted central paramilitary forces personnel deployed on duty as laid down in the existing instructions. It was also made clear by the said circular that such benefit of ration money allowance would also be made available to Delhi Police personnel. It is in that context that police personnel of Delhi Police were given the benefit of ration money allowance.

7. It is also established from the records that Class-IV employees of the Central Police organisations including the BSF are divided into two categories, namely, combatised and non-combatised. The combatised Class-IV employees are deployed with field unit at frontiers whereas the non-combatised Class-IV employees are deployed with the training institutes and support establishments like base hospitals etc. Even so far as the employees of the Central police organisations such as BSF and such para-military forces are concerned, the said combatised Class-IV employees are entitled to the ration money allowance whereas the non-combatised Class-IV employees are not given such benefit. The aforesaid position is clear and apparent on a reading of the Circular of the Ministry of Home Affairs, dated 26.9.2000. Therefore, it cannot be said that both combatised forces and non-combatised forces are doing the same kind of duties and discharging similar responsibilities. Demand for payment of ration money allowance is made on the principle of equal pay for equal work. However, in our considered opinion, the said principle cannot be made applicable to the petitioners herein as according to us the cooks in Delhi Police are not doing similar duties and not discharging similar responsibilities as being done by the cooks of CRPF, BSF etc. who are working mainly at the frontiers and are part of the combatised force. The aforesaid combatised staff like the cooks working at the frontiers alongside the army have to undergo difficult working conditions being posted at difficult stations while it is not so in the case of the petitioners who are cooks in the Delhi Police. They are working under different working conditions and different departments and, therefore, the principle of equal pay for equal work is not applicable to the facts of the present case. In that view of the matter, we find no infirmity in the judgment and order of the Tribunal. There is no merit in this petition and the same is dismissed.