Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 10: High Court today pulled up the Service Selection Board (SSB) for not allowing a married woman candidate to sit in the interview in her parental district and excluding her name in the select list of candidates in her inlaws district on the ground that she submitted the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) after cutoff date.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey after quashing the order of the SSB wherein a petitioner was excluded from the select list of teachers on the ground that she had produced her Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) after cutoff date, directed the SSB authorities to recommend her name on the analogy of the other candidates within a period of 15 days from today.
Court said that the equality clauses of the constitution and the fundamental rights of the petitioner guaranteed to her has been grossly violated. “The petitioners’ rights have been impinged upon and the wrong done to her needs to be set right. I am, therefore of the opinion that this is a matter where judicial discretion deserves to be exercised in favour of the petitioner”, Justice Magrey said.
Petitioner had applied for the post of teacher in pursuance of notification issued in the year 2010 for two districts – Budgam (her home district) and Anantnag (her nuptial place) – and was interviewed for the post of district Anantnag and accorded consideration of selection. However, at Budgam she was denied appearance in the interview on the ground that she was married at Anantnag and therefore couldn’t be said to be a resident of Budgam.
Despite having secured more points than secured by the last selected candidate, she was excluded from the select list on the ground of production of PRC of district Anantnag after cutoff date despite the fact there was no requirement in terms of advertisement notification to attach any certificate with the application form.
Court while going through whole scenario of the case and after passing a detailed judgment described the spirit of Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) envisaged in Section of the State Constitution and Present Permanent Residence Certificate (PPRC) within the meaning of Section 13 of Decentralization Act.
While describing it as gender discrimination, Court observed: “The treatment meted out to the petitioner gives a sense as if, by law, marriage pulls up and flings a lady in air so she loses her claim to appointment to Government service on the ground of residence both at her birth and the nuptial place.”
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