Delhi High Court Rules In Favour Of RPF Candidate Denied Job Due To Pregnancy, Orders ₹1 Lakh Costs To Recently Injured Woman Staff

Ruling in favour of a woman who was denied appointment as a Constable in the Railway Protection Force in 2019 due to her pregnancy, the Delhi High Court imposed Rs. 1 lakh costs on the Central Government to be paid to a lady employee who recently got injured when a portion of the roof in the court building fell on her.

A division bench comprising of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Shalinder Kaur allowed the plea moved by one Isha who was denied the employment opportunity after she could not appear in the Physical Efficiency Test (PET) despite being found meritorious in the Computer Based Test (CBT).

“In the light of the aforesaid, we allow the writ petition with costs of Rs. 1,00,000/- by directing the respondents to permit the petitioner to appear in the PET, PMT and document verification within 6 weeks,” the court said.

It added: “The costs will be paid to Ms. Arpana, a young lady who recently suffered injuries due to fall of a portion of the roof on her in the Delhi High Court premises. The costs will be paid to her within a period of 2 weeks..”

The bench directed that in case the woman is found successful and fulfilled other eligibility criteria, the authorities will appoint her to post of Constable in the RPF along with retrospective seniority and other consequential benefits.

“Arrears of backwages will however, as volunteered by the learned counsel for the petitioner, restricted to 50%,” the court said.

The bench observed that the authorities are oblivious to the rights and aspirations of young women and continue to deny them the opportunity of employment on the ground of pregnancy.

It added that discrimination based on pregnancy should never hinder a woman's right to pursue her career aspirations as maternity should not be seen as a barrier but as a fundamental human right of every woman.

“It is time that all authorities, especially those dealing with public employment realize that it is essential to support women who are eager to contribute to the nation, and ensure that they are not denied their rights due to pregnancy or other such causes which cannot be treated as a disability or an illness,” the court said.

It added that at a time when the nation is vigorously promoting gender equality and concerted efforts are being made to ensure the higher representation of women in all services including the Armed Forces, a woman cannot be disqualified for appointment only because she is unable to participate in PET due to her pregnancy.

“Pregnancy, in our view, cannot be treated as a disability but is one of the natural consequences of marriage and therefore every employer, more so the State, is expected to realize the difficulties which a woman would face during her pregnancy,” the court said. 

It added that the authorities could not have turned a blind eye and adopted an insensitive attitude towards the challenges faced by women candidates, particularly when appointing women in the Forces.

“It needs to be appreciated that it is important to have adequate representation of women not only in civil employment but also in the Armed Forces/Police. It appears that the respondents have treated pregnancy as though it were a sickness or a disability on account of which women could be ousted from the selection process. In our view, motherhood should never and can never be the basis for denying public employment opportunities to women,” the court observed.

Allowing the plea, the court said that it earnestly hopes that all employers, especially the State, will in the future, ensure that no woman is deprived of an opportunity to seek employment only on account of her pregnancy.

“We also hope that all genuine requests for deferment of physical endurance test and other physically strenuous activities, by women candidates on account of pregnancy will be considered favorably,” it said.

Title: ISHA v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 846

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