# PARAS NATH AND ANR. MAMMAN SINGH AND ORS v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS

- **Citation:** [1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 323
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1989-11-28
- **Case number:** Writ Petition Nos. 251 & 558 of 1987
- **Bench:** Ranganath Misra, P.B. Sawant, K. Ramaswamy
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/paras-nath-and-anr-mamman-singh-and-ors-v-union-of-india-and-ors-10589
- **Pages:** 6

## Headnote

Delhi Milk Scheme: Dairy Mates-Junior plant _operatives-semi
skilled operatives-Grievance-Doing work of skilled workers-But
classified as unskilled workers and paid salary-Validity of.
A
B
The firsf petition is on behalf of one thousand Dairy Mates and the C
other on behalf of 280 workers as Junior Plant Operatives and semiskilled Operatives. The grievance of Dairy Mates is that although they
perform the duties of semi-skilled workers they have been wrongly
classified as unskilled workers and paid salaries as suclt Similarly the
grievance of the Junior Plant Operatives and semi-skilled Operatives is D
that they are actually doing the work of skilled workers but are classified as unskilled workers and paid salary as such.
In view of the disputed questions rel;lting to the nature and functions of the workmen involved, the Court referred the matter to the
Central Govt. Industrial Tribm.ial-cum-Labour Court to report to the
E
Court as to what would be appropriate pay scales admissible to the
concerned workers. On the basis of additional material and evidence
produced by the workers, the Tribunal made its report and recommended that taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances,
the Mates and JPOs may be given the pay scale of Rs.800-1150, the
semi-skilled operatives may be given the scale"of Rs.825-1200 and the
F
skilled operatives may be given the scale of Rs.950-1400. The Union of
India criticised the pay scale recommended to the Mates co.i'tending
that their work was of unskilled nature. Accepting the report of the
Tribunal while allowing the Petitions in terms of the report, this Court,
HELD: There is no roster of duties and functions of the Mates in
G
any Unit and all Mates have to do the work of the Units to which they
are assigned on any particular day. The Mates have thus to be versatile
with the work in all the Units, both unskilled and semi-skilled. This is
certainly not the case with the Sweepers, Chowkidars and Malis who
are categorised as unskilled workers. This being the case, there is no
merit in the contention of the Union of India that the Mates should be
H
323
A
B
c
324
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.
treated on par with the unskilled workers. [328C-D I
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition Nos. 251 & 558 of
1987.
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
R.K. Jain and R.P. Gupta for the Petitioners.
Kapil Sibal, R.B. Misra, B.B. Sawhney, R.K. Mehta (N.P.) and
Ms. A. Subhashini for the Respondents.

## Text

-.
PARAS NATH AND ANR. MAMMAN SINGH AND ORS.
v.
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
NOVEMBER 28, 1989
[RANGANATH MISRA, P.B. SAWANT AND
K. RAMASWAMY, JJ.)
Delhi Milk Scheme: Dairy Mates-Junior plant _operatives-semi
skilled operatives-Grievance-Doing work of skilled workers-But
classified as unskilled workers and paid salary-Validity of.
A
B
The firsf petition is on behalf of one thousand Dairy Mates and the C
other on behalf of 280 workers as Junior Plant Operatives and semiskilled Operatives. The grievance of Dairy Mates is that although they
perform the duties of semi-skilled workers they have been wrongly
classified as unskilled workers and paid salaries as suclt Similarly the
grievance of the Junior Plant Operatives and semi-skilled Operatives is D
that they are actually doing the work of skilled workers but are classified as unskilled workers and paid salary as such.
In view of the disputed questions rel;lting to the nature and functions of the workmen involved, the Court referred the matter to the
Central Govt. Industrial Tribm.ial-cum-Labour Court to report to the
E
Court as to what would be appropriate pay scales admissible to the
concerned workers. On the basis of additional material and evidence
produced by the workers, the Tribunal made its report and recommended that taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances,
the Mates and JPOs may be given the pay scale of Rs.800-1150, the
semi-skilled operatives may be given the scale"of Rs.825-1200 and the
F
skilled operatives may be given the scale of Rs.950-1400. The Union of
India criticised the pay scale recommended to the Mates co.i'tending
that their work was of unskilled nature. Accepting the report of the
Tribunal while allowing the Petitions in terms of the report, this Court,
HELD: There is no roster of duties and functions of the Mates in
G
any Unit and all Mates have to do the work of the Units to which they
are assigned on any particular day. The Mates have thus to be versatile
with the work in all the Units, both unskilled and semi-skilled. This is
certainly not the case with the Sweepers, Chowkidars and Malis who
are categorised as unskilled workers. This being the case, there is no
merit in the contention of the Union of India that the Mates should be
H
323
A
B
c
324
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.
treated on par with the unskilled workers. [328C-D I
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition Nos. 251 & 558 of
1987.
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
R.K. Jain and R.P. Gupta for the Petitioners.
Kapil Sibal, R.B. Misra, B.B. Sawhney, R.K. Mehta (N.P.) and
Ms. A. Subhashini for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
SAWANT, J. The petitioners in Writ Petition No. 251 of 1987
are Dairy Mates whereas, those in Writ Petition No. 558 of 1987 are
Junior Plant Operatives and Semi-Skilled Operatives, all working with
the Delhi Milk Scheme. The first petition is on behalf of about one
D thousand workers, whereas, the second petition is on behalf of about
280 of workers.
E
F
G
H
2. The grievance of the Dairy Mates is that although they
perform the duties and functions of semi-skilled workers, they have
been wrongly classified as un-skilled workers and paid salary as such,
as recommended by the 4th Pay Commission namely, Rs.750-940
instead of Rs.800-1150 which is the salary recommended to the semiskilled workers. The grievance of the Junior Plant Operatives and
Semi-Skilled Operatives is that they are actually doing the work of
skilled workers, but are classified similarly as unskilled workers and
paid salary as such. Both, further, have a grievance that their counterparts ifi other departments, particularly in Railways, have been properly classified and are paid salary acc\lrdingly.
3. The petitions were resisted by the respondent Union of India
by filing counter affidavits denying the contentions of the petitioners
that their work was of a semi-skilled or skilled character as alleged.
4. In view of the disputed questions relating to the nature and
functions of the workmen involved, this Court by its order of July 29,
1988 referred the matter to the Central Govt. Industrial Tribunal-cumLabour Court, New Delhi to report to the Court on what would be the
appropriate pay-scales admissible to the concerned workers, after
looking into the record and giving an opportunity to the parties to
produce before it such further material as they may desire to do.
Pursuant to the order, the Tribunal submitted its report dated October
PARAS NATH v. U.0.1. [SAWANT, J.J
325
28, 1988. It appears from the report that the Tribunal had given
opportunities to both the parties to make additional submissions, if
any, and to file further material which they wished to do. Pursuant to
the opportunity given, the workers in. both the petitions produced
additional material and evidence. The respondent Union of India,
however, did not produce any further material or evidence. On the
basis of the material which was already on record, and the further
material produced before it, the Tribunal made its report. The relevant portions of the report may be reproduced hereunder:
3. "There are 4 categories of workmen in the DMS viz.
Dairy Mates, (DM), Junior Plant Operatives (JPO), Semi
Skilled Operatives (SSO) and Skill.ed Operatives (SO).
The deployment registers of the varidus units read with the
evidence of Shri Lajpat Rai Saxena Dairy Supervisor, conclusively prove that the various categories of workmen are
performing similar duties and their positions are interchangeable with the result that there is no clear demarcation as to what function is to be performed by which
category of workmen. Shri Lajpat Rai Saxena has clearly
stated that the nature of duties and the degree or skill of
S.O., S.S.O., and J.P.Os and D.Ms is almost same and that
sometimes the work done by S.S. Os is performed by S. O.
and J.P.Os subject to the availability of the category of
workmen. To a question by this Tribunal he replied that if
an S.O. is available he will be posted as an S.O. only but
when no S.O. is available, then S.S.O. is put in his place
and sometimes J.P. Os arid Dairy Mates may be put to work
in his place. He further stated that generally there is a
·shortage of S.Os and then they have to put other categories
of workmen in their places. The position is fully borne out
by the various deployment registers ......... "
4. " ........... The position of deployment of the various
categories of workmen clearly goes to show that their
duties are inter-changeable without any consideration for
their grades/designations. The position obtaining on the
ground clearly repells the contentions of the respondents
contained in affidavit of Shri K.G. Krishnamurty that the
functions of the various categories of workmen are distinct
and separate. The respondents have not been able to produce any document in support of their contention to show
that the -duties of the various categories of workmen as
enumerated in the affidavit of Shri K.G. Krishnamurty
A
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326
.SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.
were even published or actually followed. On the other
hand, Shri Lajpat Rai Saxena has stated that since the time
he joined service in the year 1972 he had not come across
any roster of duties for the different categories of workers
such as S.O., SSO, JPOs and Mates and no such roster had
been issued after 1972. He had heard that there was a
roster of duties issued prior to his joining of service but he
had not seen any such roster. It would thus appear that if
there was any such roster prior to 1972 it got into disuse
and was never enforced."
5. "The nature of functions performed by various workmen shows that they require a good degree of skill. In other
words, the functions can be performed only by skilled and
semi-skilled workers and· not by unskilled workers. Shri
Lajpat Rai Saxena has stated that there are 5 milk
pasteurisers and 2 cream pasteurisers in the plant unit of
Process Section. There are also two chillers in R.S.M.
There are 13 machines in the product section. All these
machines can be operated only by skilled workers. He
further stated that the bottle filling plant is automatic and
the entire working is also automatic. They have got a separate pest control section for cleaning and sweeping. Sweepers of Pest Control Section are not used for cleaning
machines which is done only by the SO, SSOs, JPOs and
Dairy Mates. This further goes to show that even the cleaning of machines requires skill and the job cannot be
performed by unskilled workers. Even the Management of
DMS recognises that the duties performed by the mates
and junior plant operatives who have been clubbed with
the unskilled category of peons, chowkidars etc., are much
more onerous in nature and they deserve a better deal (see
the letter dated 4-9-86 addressed by the Chairman D.M.S.
to the Joint Secretary Ministry of Agriculture). The first
petitioners have placed on record a photo copy of the
identity card issued to the mates (page I JO Vol. l) which
shows that the D. Mates were being treated as Technical
Personnel for the purpose of issue of identity cards. The
job cards annexures 1 to 6 (Vol. II) further go to show that
the mates have been performing skilled/semi-skilled duties
such as repairing of Driver seats vulcanising of punctures,
other repairs of vehicles and servicing. All these jobs could
not have been done by unskilled workers. Und~r the
circumstances, I have no hesitation in holding that the
SI. No.
1.
2.
3.
PARAS NATH v. U.0.1. (SAWANT, J.)
327
mates and junior plant operatives have been unfairly
treated by the 4th Pay Commission by giving them lowest
pay scale of unskilled category of workmen like peons,
sweepers, chowkidars etc. This category of workmen difinitely deserves to be given a higher grade than the lowest
meant for unskilled category of workmen. While it may be
conceded that due to the diffuse nature of duties, the Dairy
Mates and Junior Plant Operatives of OMS cannot be compared with the Gangmates in the Railways, yet the case of
the Dairy Mates and Junior Plant Operatives of the OMS
has intrinsic merit. No doubt the workmen categorised as
semi-skilled (SSOs) at present are carrying out the functions of Skilled Operativd (SOs) frequently, yet, so are the
Mates and JPOs. However, all the workmen cannot be
given lhe grade of SOs because the considerations of career
planning and promotions etc. have to be kept in view.
Already it is being represented that the various categories
of workmen are stagnating in their respective grades for the
last 20-25 years. The same complaint will arise afterwards if
all the· workmen are given the grades of SO at the same
time. It also militates against the principles of sound
.administration because there will be double jumping of
grades in some category of workmen. It will also not be
desirable to create any fresh scales of pay as it would run
counter to ·uie recommendations of the pay commission
which has reduced the number of pay scales prevailing
previously.''
6. "Taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances, it is recommended that the Mates and JPOs may
be given the pay scale of Rs.800-1150 and semi-skilled
operatives may be given the scale of Rs.825-1200. The
grades as provided by the 4th Pay Commission and those
now recommended by this Tribu,nal will compare as under:
Category of workmen
Pay Scale
Pay Scale '
recommended by recommendecl
4th Pay
by this
Commission
Tribunal
Skilled Operatives (SO)
950-1150
950-1400
Semi-Skilled Operatives
800-1150
825-1200
(SSO)
Mates/JPOs
750-940
800-1150."
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328
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
I 1989] Supp. 2 S.C.R.
5. While the workmen accepted the report, arguments were
advanced on behalf of the respondent mainly criticising the report with
regard to the pay-scales recommended to the Mates deployed in Transport (Distribution Section). It was contended that the Mates working
in the said section constituted 60% of the total number of Mates
deployed in the different units of the Scheme, and their work merely
consisted of loading and unloading of the crates. That work by no
stretch of imagination could be described as other than unskilled. It
was, therefore, wrong to give them a scale different from that admissible to the unskilled workers. This contention ignores the admitted fact
that Mates from one Unit are transferable to another at any time, and
when so transferred they do the work of the Units to which they are
transferred without any additional remuneration. What is more as is
stated in the report, there is no roster of duties and functions of the
Mates in any Unit, and all Mates have to do the work of the Units to
which they are assigned on any particular day. The mates have thus to
be versatile with the. work in all the Units, both unskilled and semiskilled. This is certainly not the case with the Sweepers, Chowkidars
and Malis who are categorised as unskilled workers. This being the
case, we do not see any merit in the contention that the Mates should
be treated on par with the unskilled workers.
6. There was no contention raised on the report with regard to
the mates working in the other Units or with regard to the Junior Plant
Operatives and Semi-Skilled Operatives.
7. In the circumstances, we accept the report and direct the
respondent to pay to the workers the pay scales recommended in the
report which are as follows:
A. Mates and Junior Plant Operatives
B. Semi-Skilled Operatives
Rs.800-1150
Rs.825- 1200
8. The above pay scales should come into effect from Ist
January, 1990.
9. It is made clear that none of the workers i.e. Mates, Junior
Plant Operatives and Semi-Skilled Operatives will refuse to do any
part of the work which is assigned to th.em at present merely because
they are hereby given the above pay scales.
10. Writ Petitions are allowed accordingly. The parties to bear
their own costs.
R.N.J.
Petitions allowed.