JUDGMENT S.H.A. Raza, J. - By means of this writ petition the petitioners have prayed for issue of mandamus commanding the opposite parties to fix the petitioners' pay in the pay scale of Rs. 350700 with effect from 1101975 which is available to a Legal Assistant recruited through the Public Service Commission and further prayed to place the petitioners in the pay scale of Rs. 6251240 with effect from 171979 which is available to a Legal Assistant recruited through the Public Service Commission. 2. The case of the petitioners is that they are working as Legal Assistants in the Irrigation Department of the U.P. Government and they should be paid the same Grade which the Legal Assistants of Public Works Department, Uttar Pradesh are getting as the qualifications for the appointment and the work assigned to them are similar with that of the petitioners. In para21 of the counter affidavit, the opposite parties have stated that Legal Assistants of Irrigation Department were placed in the same Grade of Rs. 160320 as was allowed to Legal Assistants of the Public works Department on the condition that future recruitment should be made on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission. The qualifications are not based on any rationality and there is no nexus to the object which is sought to be achieved. Hon'ble Supreme Court in a case, reported in AIR 1982 Supreme Court, 879 laid down the following proposition: 6. The counteraffidavit does not explain how the case of the drivers in the police force is different from that of the drivers in other departments and what special factors weighed in fixing a lower scale of pay for them. Apparently in the view of the respondents, the circumstances that persons belong to different departments of the Government is itself a sufficient circumstance to justify different scales of pay irrespective of the identity of their powers, duties and responsibilities. We cannot accept this view. If this view is to be stretched to its logical conclusion, the scale of pay of officers of the same rank in the Government of India may vary from department to department notwithstanding that their powers, duties responsibilities are identical. We cannot accept this view. If this view is to be stretched to its logical conclusion, the scale of pay of officers of the same rank in the Government of India may vary from department to department notwithstanding that their powers, duties responsibilities are identical. We concede that equation of posts & equation of pay are matters primarily for the Executive Government and expert bodies like the Pay Commission and not for Courts but we must hasten to say that where all things are equal that is, where all relevant considerations are the same, persons holding identical posts may not be treated differentially in the matter of their pay merely because they belong to different departments. Of course, if officers of the same rank perform dissimilar functions and the powers, duties and responsibilities of the posts held by them vary, such officers may not be heard to complain of dissimilar pay merely because the posts are of the same rank and the nomenclature is the same. 3. The different and unequal treatment placing the petitioners in low pay scale than the Legal Assistants of other departments cannot be said to be justified, in view of the aforesaid law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. 4. In view of what has been observed above, the writ petition is allowed and a writ of mandamus is issued directing the opposite parties to decide the question of fixation of the petitioners' pay in the pay scale of Rs. 6251240 (revised) which is payable to their counter part in U.P. Public works Department, within a period of four months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order by the petitioner. However, in the circumstances, there shall be no order as to costs.