The Ukrainian woman, who has been denied employment visa only because her annual salary is below the stipulated norm, is likely to lose her job with JP Morgan Services India Pvt. Ltd.
The Bombay High Court on Friday declined her temporary permission to enter India and report to
work.
“Ask your prospective employer to wait for a month,” said Chief Justice Mohit Shah when the Ukrainian’s lawyer, Prashant Uchil urged for interim relief.
Uchil requested the judges to allow Iluliia Leonid Stelmakh (24) to come to India, through an interim arrangement, and report to work.
“She will immediately leave the country in case she fails in the litigation,” said the lawyer.
Uchil said the woman was denied an opportunity to work without a rationale and her right to work — being right to life — subsisted although she is a foreigner.
But the argument failed to impress the judges, who granted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs three weeks to file a reply.
On June 3, the woman filed an application seeking an employment visa on the basis of job offered by JP Morgan Services as Global Finance Analyst.
Two days later, Indian Embassy at Kyiv, Ukraine, refused her employment visa as she did not fulfill the criteria of minimum annual salary of $25,000 (Rs 11, 71,500).
JP Morgan Services has offered her an annual package of Rs 7.35 lakh.
Her petition says the rule violates the mandate of equality as enumerated in Article 14 of the Constitution of India and was also ultra virus tenets of International law governing free movement and work opportunity.
The matter will come up for hearing after four weeks.