( 1 ) THE petitioners in these petitions have prayed for the issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus Directing the respondents to extend them the benefit of the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 with effect from 1-7-1959 or from the date of their appointment in the National Tuberculosis Institute Bangalore whichever is later. ( 2 ) SINCE common ouestions of law and facts arise for consideration in these petitions they are dispofsed of by this common order. ( 3 ) THE petitioners were appointed as Upper Divn Clerks in the national Tuberculosis Institute Bangalore (hereinafter referred to as the 'institute') which is established by the Govt of India. Although they were called as Upper Divn Clerks the actual duties which they have been performing from the time of their appointment are those of Field Investigators. They belong to the non-ministerial category of the employees of tho institute. On receipt of the II Pay Commission's Report the Govt of India implemented the same with effect from 1-7-1959. In so far as the petitioners were concerned their pay-scale was fixed at Rs. 130-300 on the basis of the recommendation of the Pay Commission that the UDCs should be placed in the pay scale of Rs. 130-300. It should be mentioned here that the recommendation of the Pay Commission in respect of Field Investigators who were Science Graduates working under the Govt of India was that the pay scale should be Rs. 150-5-160-8-240-EB-8-280-10-300. The grievance of the petitioners in these cases is that at the time of the implementation of the recommendation made by the Pay Commission it was ordered by the govt of India that the petitioners should be accorded the pay scale of rs. 130-300 having regard to the fact that they had been designated as udcs and without taking into consideration that the duties which they were actuallv performing were not the duties of UDCs but were the duties of the Field Investigators which were entirely non-ministerial in character. ( 4 ) IT is contended on behalf of the petitioners that if the authorities concerned had applied their mind to the substance of the ouestion viz. the duties which the petitioners were performing they would have in ordinary course accorded the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 as recommended in the case of Field Investigators. ( 4 ) IT is contended on behalf of the petitioners that if the authorities concerned had applied their mind to the substance of the ouestion viz. the duties which the petitioners were performing they would have in ordinary course accorded the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 as recommended in the case of Field Investigators. The petitioners made a representation to the concerned authorities to revise the pay scale fixed in their case as well as their designation. In response to the said representation the petitioners received a reply the contents of which can be gathered from the letter dt. 11-9-1970 written by the Director General of Health Services new Delhi to the Director of the Institute which reads as follows :"sub:-Upper Divn Clerk (Field Asst Publicity and Census and Census taker)-Change of designation as Field Investigator. I am directed to refer to your letter No. 1-19|69-Estt|8850 dt. 1-1-70 on the above subject and to say that the Director General of Health Services is pleased to change the designation of the post of UDC (Field Asst Publicity and Census Census Taker) at the NTI Bangalore to Field Investigator without any change in the existing scale of pay of the post subject to the condition that no proposal for the revision of the scale of pay of the post or grant of any other allowance etc. to the incumbent of the post will be entertained by the Govt of India on the ground that the post of Field investigator elsewhere carries higher scale of pay or other allowances etc. "from the letter extracted above it is clear that the Director General of health Services was of the view that the petitioners were in fact doing the work of Field Investigators and not the duties which UDCs would crdinarilv perform and that therefore there was need for the alteration in their designation. It is also clear from the above letter that Field Investrs. working under the Govt of India were being paid salary in a pay scala different from the pay seals of UDCs Aggrieved by the action on the part of the authorities of the Central Govt declining to sanction the pay scale which was sanctioned in the case of Field Investigators the petitioners have filed these petitions for the issue of appropriate directions ( 5 ) THE petitions are resisted by the respondents. ( 6 ) THEI first ouestion which arises for consideration is whether the designation of the petitioners as UDCs is right or not. The petitioners havo produced at Ex. B a statement relating to the duties which are ordinarily performed by the petitioners at the Institute. The authenticity of the said statement is not oustioned. The preamble to the said statement reads as follows :" Duty schedule for Field Investigators-The National Tuberculosis investigators' field activities are organised and carried out by Technical sections viz. Epidemological Sociological Control and Service (Urban end Rural) Bacteriological and Statistical Section. (Extracts from the administration and Scientific Report 1 May 1959 Deer 1960 page 10 ). The epidemological Section provides to the nation a fund of cora knowledge about the disease dynamics such as the mortality morbidity infection rats population movement and growth area of the pods of infection the population at the maximum etc. Field Investigators attached to the Epidemplogical Section are executive technical staff and by the very nature of the working of the Epidemological ork which will be subject to periodical changes depending on the nature size and extent of the study/survey will be assigned-various technical duties such as the desk planning and actual collection of bio-data individual data; tests like the Tuberculosis Testing and Reading' History collection and the like. Because the work is essentially one ol research involving public the Field Investigator! has the onerous responsibility of public relations added to the fact that because of the different types of duties assgined he has to be adaptable prepared to work for long hours and always aiming at the highest standards of work. The following are some of the essential duties and responsibilities assigned to the Fied Investigators for various field jobs such as Tuberculosis tester Tuberculosis Reader Card Controller History Collection investigator Sputum Supervisor Census Taker are also assigned to the Field investigator whose functions are described under each sub-heading. "the Field Investigators are classified into 4 categories viz. Card Controller census Taker Tester Reader etc. It is seen from Ex. B that all of them have got field duties to perform. ( 7 ) THE petitioners have also produced a statement of duties which are performed by an ordinary UDC at the Institute. They are at Ex. "the Field Investigators are classified into 4 categories viz. Card Controller census Taker Tester Reader etc. It is seen from Ex. B that all of them have got field duties to perform. ( 7 ) THE petitioners have also produced a statement of duties which are performed by an ordinary UDC at the Institute. They are at Ex. E. A perusal of the same would show that the officials who are doing duties ol udcs are not liable to perform any of the field duties which are to be performed by the petitioners. In support of their case each of the petitioners has also produced a certificate issued by the Director of the Institute at ex. F which reads as follows :" No. F. 100-P202|64|estt. Date. . . . . . . . . . . CERTIFICATE certified that Sri. . . . . . . and other staff members who were recruited as UDC (Census-cum-Publicity) were re-designated as Field Investigators. From the day of their appointment they are involved in Research studies conducted by the Institute. Their job is non-ministerial. " ( 8 ) FROM Ex. B which contains the statement of duties to be performed by the petitioners Ex. E which contains the duties of the UDCs working in the Institute and Ex. F the certificate issued by the Director of Institute it is clear that all along the petitioners have been performing the duties of Field Investigators and not the duties of the UDCs. Hence it has to be held that the petitioners have been working as Field Investigators form the time of their appointment and that it was a misnomer to call them as UDCs at any rate till they were designated as Field Investigators. It is not now in dispute that the petitioners are designated as Field Investigators. Hence for all intents and purposes including pay scale they have to be treated as Field Investigators and not as UDCs. ( 9 ) IT is seen from a lettter addressed by the Deputy Secretary to the govt of India to the Chief Director National Sample Survey New Delhi dt. 28-10-1969 a copy of which has been produced by the petitioners that the pay scale of Field Investigators in the Directorate of National Survey had been fixed at Rs. 150-300 which was the pay scale recommended by the pay Commission in the case of Field Investigators. 28-10-1969 a copy of which has been produced by the petitioners that the pay scale of Field Investigators in the Directorate of National Survey had been fixed at Rs. 150-300 which was the pay scale recommended by the pay Commission in the case of Field Investigators. ( 10 ) RELYING upon the decision of the Supreme Court in Purushottam lal v. Union of India, AIR 1973 SC 1088 . it was argued on behalf of the petitioners that the implementation of the revised pay scale recommended by the Pay commission in a particular category of servants and non-implementation of the same in the case of persons similarly situated amounted to violation of arts. 14 and 16 of the Constn. In that case the ouestion which arose for consideration before the Supremo Court was whether the Research Assts who came within Class III of the non-Gazetted technical posts were entitled to a pay scale which was recommended by the Pay Commission in the case of scientific staff working in other departments with effect from 1-7-1959 from which date the new pay scale was implemented in the case of the said Scientific staff. The Supreme Court after over-ruling the objection urged on behalf of the Union of India regarding the delay involved in the institution of the above petition under Art. 32 before the Supreme Court was of the view that the Union Govt was liable to implement the recommendations of the Pay Commission with effect from 1-7-1959 in the case of the petitioners also and to pay all arrears of salary on that basis. The principle enunciated by the Supreme Court in the above case is that when the union Govt takes a decision to revise the pay scale of officials belonging to a particular class on the basis of the recommendation of the Pay Commission it is bound to treat all officials belonging to the said class alike both with regard to the period from which the recommendation has to be implemented and the pay scaje that should be accorded to them. Any discrimination made without any valid reason would be hit by Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution. ( 11 ) FROM the material placed before the Court it is clear that with regard to the Field Investigators working elsewhere under the Govt of india the pay scale of Rs. Any discrimination made without any valid reason would be hit by Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution. ( 11 ) FROM the material placed before the Court it is clear that with regard to the Field Investigators working elsewhere under the Govt of india the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 recommended by the Pay Commission has been implemented. In all probability the Govt of India would have implemented the recommendation of the Pay Commission in the case of the petitioners also by according them the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 but for the fact that till 1970 the petitioners had been designated as. UDCs. It is ouite probable that the petitioners were not extended the pay scale of Rs. 150-300 because the Govt of India did not apply its mind at the relevant point of time to the actual duties which the petitioners were performing. The result has been that the petitioners who are in fact discharging the duties of Field Investigators have been treated as UDCs and sanctioned the pay scale which was implemented in the case of UDCs. The non-consideration by the Govt of India of the duties which the petitioners were performing at the relevant point of time has resulted in violation of Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution. It is well settled that when unequals are treatd as eouals or when eouals are treated as un-equals Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution would be violated if there is no basis for such differential treatments. ( 12 ) SRI M. Papanna learned Counsel for the Union Govt argued that the petitioners could not have been treated as Field Investigators until the Govt of India altered their designation in the year 1970 and therefore they could not claim the pay scale which was extended to the Field Investigators. It is significant to note that when the designation of the petitioners was altered in 1970 there was no conesponding alteration in the duties. From the certificate given by the Director of the Institute it is clear that they have been performing the same duties from the date of their appointment and that those duties were non-ministerial in character. Hence the petitioners should have been treated as Field Investigators from the date of their appointment and paid salary on that basis although they had been designated as Upper Division Clerks till 11-9-1970. Hence the petitioners should have been treated as Field Investigators from the date of their appointment and paid salary on that basis although they had been designated as Upper Division Clerks till 11-9-1970. ( 13 ) THE next submission of Sri Papanna was that the petitioners who had approached the Court nearly 14 years after the implementation of the recommendation of Pay Commn should fail on the ground of laches. I would have probably agreed with the submission made by Sri Papanna and disallowed the claim for arrears of salary but for the fact that the Supreme court had issued a writ on 21-2-1973 in a petition instituted in the year 1969 directing the Union Govt to implement the recommendation of the Pay commission with effect from 1-7-1959 after over-ruling the objection regarding the delay in the institution of the said petition. Since the facts of that case are more or less similar to the facts of the present cases and all of them relate the implementation of the Pay Commission report I am of the view that the observations made by the Supreme Court in that case would eoually be applicable to the present cases. I therefore reject the contention urged on behalf of the Govt of India on the ground of delay. ( 14 ) IN the result the respondents are directed to accord the pay scale of Rs. l50-5-160-8-240-EB-8-280-10-300 with effect from the earliest date on which any of the Field Investigators working in other departments of the gcvt of India were accorded the said pay scale. In the case of the petitioners who are appointed subseouent to the date on which the said pay scale was extended to Field Investigators in other departments they should be paid their salary in that scale only from the date of their appointments the petitioners shall be paid all the arrears of salary on that basis. Six months' time is given to implement the above directions. ( 15 ) THE petitions are accordingly allowed. No costs. --- *** --- .