FEDERATION OF ALL INDIA CUSTOMS & CENTRALEXCISESTENOGRAPHER vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

The Supreme Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Personal Assistants and Stenographers (Grade I) seeking pay parity with their counterparts attached to Joint Secretaries in the Ministry of Finance, citing Articles 14 and 16(1) of the Constitution of India. The Court held that while equal pay for equal work is a fundamental right, it must consider the nature of the work and the responsibilities involved, which may justify differences in pay scales. The Court concluded that the differentiation in pay was based on rational criteria as per the Third Pay Commission's recommendations, thus upholding the existing pay structure.