Married daughters too entitled for job on father's death: HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that a married daughter is equally entitled to a government job on compassionate grounds on father's demise. Giving job to unmarried daughters of government servants but denying the same benefit to married daughters violates the right to equality, equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and right to life which are enshrined in the Constitution, the court said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by 29-year-old Swati Kulkarni against Maharashtra Irrigation Department's decision to reject her claim for a job on compassionate grounds after her father's demise. The department had cited a 1994 Government Resolution (GR) which said that only unmarried daughters would get this benefit.

The petitioner's father Ashok Kulkarni died while in service in 2008. Both her mother and younger sister did not wish to take the job, so Kulkarni herself staked claim. Her name was put on waiting list.

But when she got married, the name was struck off. Aggrieved, she moved the High Court challenging the October 1994 GR. The division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere yesterday quashed the Irrigation Officer's decision and ordered that Kulkarni's name be included in the waiting list.