Right to equality: Rajasthan High Court quashes 1996 government order discriminating against men in appointment to Electricity Board

State cannot discriminate against men, the Rajasthan High Court recently said while quashing an October 1996 order of the Rajasthan State Electricity Board (RSEB) appointing only women as lower division clerk (LDC) under a compassionate scheme [Ashish Arora vs Rajasthan State Electricity Board]..Referring to provisions of Articles 14 and 16, the Court held that the same indicate that in matters of recruitment to employment, the State will not discriminate between men and women and that a citizen will not be ineligible for employment or office under the State on the ground of sex only."The exclusion of male candidates for getting compassionate appointment on the post of LDC is based solely on gender discrimination and the same is also in violation of Rajasthan State Electricity Board Ministerial Staff Regulations, 1962," the Court held.Single-judge Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand noted that Article 14 of the Constitution of India prohibits the State from denying any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws and Article 15(1) prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth."Therefore, no citizen shall be discriminated on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 takes its root from Article 14 and ensures equality of opportunity in the matters of employment under the State. Therefore, the fundamental right to equality means that persons in like situations, under like circumstances, should be treated alike," the judge observed in his April 26 order..The judgment was passed on petitions filed by two men who argued that despite them possessing the eligible qualifications, the RSEB did not appoint them as LDCs citing the government order of October 17, 1996. The petitioners pointed out that they were instead given the job of helper (group I).The RSEB, however, justified its October 1996 decision saying that since large number of men had applied under the compassionate scheme, they were given jobs as helpers while women were taken as LDCs since only few of them applied.The Court, however, noted that such an order was in violation of the Constitutional provisions as well as Rajasthan State Electricity Board Ministerial Staff Regulations, 1962.Article 14 of the Constitution of India ensures equality and its main object is to protect persons similarly placed against discriminatory treatment, the judge underlined."The equality before law guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India is a constitutional admonition against both the legislative and executive organs of the State. Therefore, neither the legislature nor the Rule making Authority can make a law or a Rule, issue any guidelines or circulars or even administrative instructions, which would be in violation of Articles 14 and 15," the Court saidA classification by the State should be rational and have a reasonable nexus with the object sought to be achieved."The respondents cannot discriminate against the petitioners to get appointment on the post of LDC merely because similar female candidates were less in number in comparison to male candidates. Thus, the order of the RSEB is held to be violative of Articles 14 and 16 and accordingly the same is hereby quashed," the bench ruled.In the present case, the challenge was not against a statute but a guideline and such guideline stands at a much lower pedestal than a statute, the Court said."The issue in hand does not concern a statute, but a guideline in the form of a policy; a policy in the form of a guideline, it is therefore, on a lower pedestal than that of a statute. If statutes are held to be violative of the tenets of Article 14 by the Constitutional Courts for the reason that it depicts discrimination resulting in gender bias, a guideline in the form of policy would pale into insignificance, if it portrays such discrimination, even to its remotest sense," the bench observed.With these observations, the bench quashed the RSEB order..Advocate Punit Singhvi appeared for the petitioners.Advocates Aveesh Mourya and HC Mourya represented the State authorities..[Read Judgment]