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The two groups of officers, referred to above are all working in the 14 Branches of the Central Bureau of Investi- gation which are called Central Investigating Units. It is not disputed that the two sets of officers, namely the 'non-deputationists' and the 'deputationists' in the ranks of Sub-Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police discharge the same functions, duties and responsibil- ities in the various Central Investigating Units. They have to travel to different places for purposes of investigation into the several cases entrusted to them. The Special pay that is being paid to the deputationists is in addition to the Deputation Allowance paid to them which is not admissi- ble to the non-deputationists. The Deputation Allowance is paid to the deputationists as compensation for the temporary displace- ment from their parent cadres occasioned by their deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. At present a Deputy Superintendent of Police who is on deputation gets Rs. 150 per month as Deputation Allowance, an Inspector who is on deputation gets Its. 125 per month as Deputation Allowance and a Sub-Inspector who is on deputation gets Rs. 100 per month as Deputation Allowance. It is also alleged that in the non Central Investigating Units of the Central Bureau of Investigation the rates of Special Pay paid to the officers working in the three cadres of Sub-Inspectors, Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police are the same both in the case of deputationists and non-deputationists, but in the case of Central Investigating Units, however, to which the petitioners belong the deputationists in all the three ranks get Special Pay at higher rates as stated above. It would also appear that between June, 1976 and August, 1979 the Deputy Superintendents of Police belonging to the cate- gory of non-deputationists were totally denied the Special Pay of Rs. 150 per month which was being given to the Deputy Superintendents of Police who are on deputation. It is contended by the petitioners that the denial, of the Special pay at the same rates at which. the deputationists are being paid amounts to violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

In answer to the above claim of the petitioners it is stated on behalf of the Central Government in the counter- affidavit filed by Shri R.S. Nagpal, Under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms) that because the State Governments had revised scales of pay of their staff including the State Police from different dates merging whole or substantial portion of the dearness allowance and because the dearness allowance and the structure of pay scales differed widely from one State to another, there could not be any comparison between the scales of pay of the deputationists and the scales of pay of the non-deputation- ists which had been fixed on the recommendation of the Third Pay Commission. It is further stated that the Special Pay was being paid to the deputationists at a higher rate to attract officers of high caliber from their parent depart- ments and the arduous nature of their duties. It is well-settled by several decisions of this Court that in order to pass the test of permissible classification of persons belonging to the same class into groups for purposes of differential treatment two conditions must be fulfilled, namely, that the classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons who are grouped together from others left out of the group and that that differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the law which brings about discrimination between the two groups. The Deputation Allow- ance which is paid to the deputationists with which the petitioners have no quarrel compensates the difficulties which the deputationists may encounter on account of their displacement from their parent departments. The Special Pay, however, is not actually paid as compensation for such displacement. This is quite evident from the recent proposal which was submitted to the FOurth Pay Commission by the Government of India. it reads thus: