Constitution of India – Art.14 – Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief – Retired employees of KSRTC filed a writ petition questioning the lower rate fixed for enhancement of DR on pension than what was fixed for enhancement of DA on salary – Their grievance was that the serving employees got enhancement of DA by 14 per cent whereas the pensioners’ DR was enhanced by 11 per cent – They claimed violation of Art.14 of the Constitution – The Single Judge of the High Court dismissed the writ petitions – However, the Division Bench of the High Court held that benefit extended was discriminatory and violative of Art.14 of the Constitution – Whether the High Court was justified in holding the same to be discriminatory and violative of Art.14:
Held: The object and purpose of dearness allowance/dearness relief is to mitigate the hardship faced by salaried employees/pensioners on account of inflation – The Government Order in question increases the rate of DA by 14% and DR by 11% even though the increase is to serve a common object, which is to mitigate the hardship faced by the serving employees and pensioners on account of inflation – Indisputably, inflation hits both serving and retired employees with equal force, therefore, differentiating the two qua the rate of increase of DA and DR, has no rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved – Therefore, the High Court was justified in holding the same to be discriminatory and violative of Article 14. [Paras 25, 26] Constitution of India – Art.14 – Test of reasonable classification – Burden of proof:
Held: Art.14 of the Constitution forbids class legislation but permits reasonable classification which must satisfy twin tests: (1) that the classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes those that are grouped together from others, and (2) that differentia must have rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the Act – The differentia which is the basis of the classification and the object of the Act are distinct things and what is necessary is that there must be a nexus between the two – Legislative and executive action may accordingly be sustained if it satisfies the twin tests of reasonable classification and the rational principle correlated to the object sought to be achieved – The burden of proof lies on the State to affirmatively establish that these twin tests have been satisfied – The State must therefore not only establish the rational principle on which classification is founded but correlate it to the objects sought to be achieved. [Para 22]
Constitution of India – Art.14 – Concept of Equality – Equality is antithetic to arbitrariness – Discussed. [Para 22]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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