Law:

Section:

Income-tax services-----   -----Constitution of Class I and Class II officers-Provision for higher scale of pay and promotion to             higher posts    to         Class   1          officers            only-Whether discriminatory-Fundamental right of equal opportunity for employment-Constitution of India, Arts. 14, 16-Income-tax Act (XI of 1922), S 5.   The Income-tax services were re-constituted by the Govern ment in 1944. One of the features of the reconstitution was that in place of the one class of Income-tax Officers, two classes were created, one consisting of Income-tax Officers of Class I service, and the other class in which all the then existing Income-tax Officers were placed forming Class II officers. Class I officers were eligible to be promoted to the higher posts of Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners ; Class II officers were not eligible for direct promotion to these higher posts. They could obtain such promotion only after having first reached the status of Class I officers. A percentage of the vacancies in the post of Class I officers was to be filled by promotion of Class II officers and the rest by direct recruitment. An Income-tax Officer filed an applica tion for a writ for protection of his fundamental rights contending that the provisions as regards recruitment to posts of Commis sioners and Assistant Commissioners from Class I officers only but not directly from Class II officers violated Article 16(1) of the Constitution which guaranteed equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State;   Held, that Article 16(1) did not forbid the creation of different grades in Government service, and, as the impugned provision did not make any discrimination between persons in the same grade in the matter of promotion to the posts of Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners, it did not contravene Article 16(1) of the Constitution;   Held also, that the fact…