Shimla, June 18,
In a landmark judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to grant revised pay scales to Firemen, establishing parity with Police Constables and bringing closure to a wage disparity dispute that has lasted over a decade.
The Division Bench of Justice Sandeep Sharma passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Fireman Jogi Ram Bhardwaj, who had challenged the denial of pay revision benefits granted to Constables under a September 2012 notification.
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Terming the state government’s stance as unjustified, the Court rejected its claim of “executive prerogative” in denying revised pay to Firemen. “The exclusion of Firemen lacks cogent justification, especially in light of identical qualifications, duties, and an official recommendation from within the department,” the judgment noted.
The High Court held that the differential treatment violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and equal opportunity in public employment.
The petitioner, Jogi Ram Bhardwaj, a Fireman regularized in 2020, had argued that despite sharing the same minimum qualification of 10+2 with Police Constables, Firemen were excluded from the revised pay scale of ₹10,300–34,800 with a grade pay of ₹3,200. Instead, they continued to draw pre-revision pay of ₹5,910–20,200 with ₹1,900 grade pay.
Supporting the petitioner’s claim, the Court referred to a 2022 recommendation by the Director of Fire Services. The report not only confirmed the qualification parity but also highlighted that Firemen undergo additional compulsory training—60 days in Home Guards and 60 days in Fire Safety courses—making their entry standards more stringent than those for Constables.
“The 2012 pay revision was introduced to offset inflation and rising living costs. These factors affect Firemen equally,” the Court observed, instructing the Principal Secretary (Home) to act on the 2022 recommendation within three weeks.
The government has been directed to apply the revised pay scale to eligible Firemen with retrospective effect and release arrears from the original 2012 implementation date.
This decision, titled Jogi Ram Bhardwaj vs State of Himachal Pradesh, is expected to benefit over 1,200 serving Firemen in the state and may serve as a precedent for similar pay equity demands across other public safety departments
