The Madras High Court Bench here has reiterated that daughters of government employees, who die in harness, cannot be denied job on compassionate grounds just because they were married when no such stipulation was imposed on sons of such employees.
Allowing a writ petition filed by a woman, Justice S. Vaidyanathan quashed an order passed by a Tangedco Superintending Engineer in Sivaganga on March 9 denying compassionate employment to the petitioner since she was married.
The judge said that the court had, in a catena of decisions delivered since 2008, categorically held that there could be not any discrimination between sons and daughters on the basis of their marital status when it comes to providing employment to them on compassionate grounds.
Some of the judgments had also stated that such discrimination in providing employment goes against the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 which imposes equal responsibility on both sons and daughters with respect to taking care of their parents.
Hence, the judge directed the SE to reconsider his decision within three weeks since the petitioner, A. Rohini, belonged to a downtrodden community and also happened to be the only child of a woman Inspector of Assessment who died on February 23.
