Married daughter eligible for jobs: Himachal Pradesh HC

In a first, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has allowed the petition of a married daughter of a deceased government employee for compassionate employment. The division bench comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Chander Bhusan Barowalia passed these orders on a petition filed by Mamta Devi.

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh high court ordered that there can be no artificial classification between a married son and a married daughter only on the basis of sex and married daughters will also be eligible for jobs on compassionate grounds.

The High Court ordered the government to grant appointment on the basis of compassion to the married daughter of the deceased employee.

A division bench comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Chander Bhusan Barowalia passed this important judgment on a petition filed by one Mamta Devi.

According to the applicant Mamta Devi, her father died on 8 May 2019. He was working as a Class IV employee in the District Ayurvedic Office, Kullu.

According to the applicant, besides her, her mother and sister were dependent on the deceased father.

There is no male member in her house who can take care of the family and her mother and sister are unable to do the job.

Due to which she applied for a job on compassionate grounds, but her application was rejected saying that under the policy of getting a job on compassionate grounds, married daughters do not qualify.

Mamta Devi challenged this policy of the government in the High Court, calling it gender discriminatory.

According to Mamta, just as the son of the deceased employee remains a son all his life, similarly the daughter remains the daughter, whether she is married or unmarried.

Therefore, only on the grounds that she is disqualified for the job on compassionate grounds that she is married should be made discriminatory under the Indian Constitution.

The court made it clear in its decision that the government cannot discriminate on the basis of gender.

The High Court bench held it to be discriminatory and married women should also be considered eligible for appointment on compassionate grounds.

Especially when no male member in the dependent family is eligible for the job.

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