A married daughter is entitled to seek employment of parent’s’ government job on compassionate grounds, as marriage does not mean the discontinuance of a relationship between a parent and child, the Karnataka High Court ruled on Wednesday.
The court said that excluding daughters on such grounds was unconstitutional and discriminatory, reported LiveLaw.
‘If the marital status of son does not make a difference in law to his entitlement for seeking parents’ job on compassionate grounds, the marital status of the daughter should also make no difference, as that does not cease her from being part of the family,’ the HC observed.
‘Law cannot make the assumption that married sons alone continue to be part of the family,’ Justice M Nagaprasanna observed.
The court passed the ruling while hearing a writ petition moved by Bhuvaneswari V Puranik. A resident of Bengaluru, Puranik had approached the High Court after she was denied the consideration for a job after her fathers death, late Ashok Adiveppa Madivalar who was working as Secretary in the office of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Kudachi village in Belagavi district.
The deceased has a son and a daughter. While the son chose not to seek the job, the daughter wanted it. However, the appointment was denied by the department’s Joint Director, on the ground that she is married.
Stating that ‘nature bestows so much on women and law cannot bestow too little’, Justice Nagaprasana said the rules seek to create discrimination based on gender and violates the rights provided under Article 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution.
