HC comes to the rescue of sericulture inspectors

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of about 100 junior inspectors of sericulture by allowing their writ petitions seeking selection grade and special grade pay.  Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar granted the relief while passing a common order on the petitions from R Mohanram and others. Petitioners were originally employed as sericulture operators. The post was later redesignated as junior inspector of sericulture by merging the posts of sericulture operator and demonstrator. Their request for selection grade and special grade pay in the merged post was rejected. Petitioners submitted that the High Court in July 2008 had directed the authorities to grant selection grade to another group of junior inspectors who had filed a writ petition.Petitioners stated that they were also similarly placed and, therefore, they also should be given the relief. But their request was rejected by the department. Hence, the present petitions.Justice Vasanthakumar said it was a well settled principle of law that when similarly placed persons were claiming similar benefit, without any factual difference, the same benefit should be extended to them also.Citing various decisions of the Supreme Court, the judge set aside the impugned orders and directed the authorities to extend the benefit to the petitioners as had been done to similarly placed persons by the department orders of August 1996 and October 2010, within three months.