Contractual
Teachers of MCD Entitled to Equal Pay for Equal Work; Supreme Court Dismisses
MCD’s SLP
New
Delhi, January 12, 2026:
In
a significant relief to contractual teachers of the Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD), the Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed the Special
Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the MCD, thereby allowing the orders granting
equal pay for equal work to contractual teachers to attain finality.
The
dismissal of the SLP effectively upholds the decisions of the Central
Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the Delhi High Court, which had
directed the MCD to pay contractual primary teachers salary at the minimum
of the regular pay scale, along with Dearness Allowance and other
admissible emoluments, with effect from 1 January 2016.
Background
of the Litigation
The
contractual teachers, who have been serving the MCD since as early as 2003, had
approached the Central Administrative Tribunal seeking parity in pay with
regularly appointed teachers, relying upon the constitutional principle of “equal
pay for equal work.”
By
its order dated 21 May 2025, the CAT allowed the teachers’ application
and directed MCD to grant them salary at the minimum of the pay scale
applicable to regular teachers, along with arrears. The Tribunal relied upon
the landmark Supreme Court judgment in State of Punjab & Ors. v. Jagjit
Singh & Ors. (2017).
The
MCD challenged the Tribunal’s order before the Delhi High Court, which,
by judgment dated 31 July 2025, dismissed the writ petition and held
that the Tribunal had rightly applied the law and that contractual teachers
performing the same duties as regular teachers could not be denied pay parity.
Supreme
Court Proceedings
Aggrieved
by the High Court’s decision, the MCD approached the Supreme Court by filing a
Special Leave Petition. After hearing the parties, the Supreme Court declined
to interfere with the concurrent findings of the Tribunal and the High Court.
The SLP was accordingly dismissed, thereby confirming the entitlement of
contractual teachers to the benefit of equal pay for equal work. The
contractual teachers were represented before the Supreme Court by Mr. Anuj
Aggarwal, Advocate, along with his team of counsel, who successfully
defended the impugned judgments in favour of the teachers.
Impact
With
the dismissal of the SLP, the legal position stands reaffirmed that long-serving
contractual teachers of the MCD, who discharge duties identical to those of
regular teachers, are entitled to salary at the minimum of the regular pay
scale, reinforcing constitutional guarantees of equality and fairness in
public employment.
https://advocateanujaggarwal.com/home.php
Anuj
Aggarwal
Advocate
K-17,
2nd Floor, Jangpura Extension,
New
Delhi - 110014
483,
Block-2, Lawyers Chambers,
Delhi
High Court, New Delhi-110003
Mobile
– 9891403206
Landline
– 011 - 35554905
Email
– anujaggarwal1984@gmail.com
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