High Court Pulls Up Govt: Firemen Deserve Pay Hike Like Cops, Rules Justice Sandeep Sharma
Shimla: In a ruling that could impact hundreds of firemen in Himachal Pradesh, the High Court directed the state government to reconsider the long-pending demand for pay revision of firemen, putting them on par with police constables.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, while allowing a petition filed by Jogi Ram Bhardwaj—currently serving as a fireman—criticised the government for denying revised pay scales to firemen despite a 2012 notification revising pay for several Class-III posts, including constables.
The court held that since both firemen and constables share the same basic educational qualification (10+2), and in fact firemen require additional specialised training, there was no logic in denying them the same financial benefits.
The judge made it clear that “there appears to be no reason to deny similar benefit of pay revision to the category of fireman, who discharge responsibilities comparable to those of constables.”
What’s the case?
The petitioner was initially appointed as a fireman on contract in 2012 and was regularised in 2020.
Since then, he’s been drawing a pay scale of Rs 5,910–20,200 with a grade pay of Rs 1,900.
But he claimed that he was entitled to the upgraded pay scale of Rs 10,300–34,800 with a grade pay of Rs 3,200—as per a government notification issued on September 27, 2012.
Interestingly, the Director General-cum-Director, Fire Services, in a letter dated September 5, 2022, had already recommended to the Principal Secretary (Home) that firemen be treated at par with constables in terms of pay structure.
The communication noted that not only do both posts share similar qualifications, but firemen also undergo two additional 60-day training modules, making their recruitment criteria tougher.
Despite this, no action had been taken by the government so far.
What the Court Said
Referring to several Supreme Court rulings, Justice Sharma stated that while courts generally do not interfere in pay scale matters—which fall under the executive domain—they must intervene when a decision appears "unjust, unreasonable, and prejudicial" to a group of employees.
He also cited a previous case (CWP No. 1007 of 2019—Bhagat Ram vs. State of HP) where the High Court had asked the government to consider the rising cost of living while deciding on pay revisions for similarly placed employees.
Justice Sharma observed that the firemen had clearly demonstrated functional parity with constables.
“Once pay revision is ordered taking note of various factors, especially rise in price index, the same factor would apply in the case of firemen,” he ruled.
Court’s Direction to Govt
The High Court has now directed the Principal Secretary (Home), Himachal Pradesh, to act on the 2022 recommendation of the Fire Services Director within three weeks and consider firemen for pay revision as per the 2012 notification.
If found eligible, firemen will be entitled to revised pay retrospectively from the applicable due date.
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