E-Paper
Women can’t be denied jobs citing late hours, rules Kerala HC
The petitioner was working as an engineering trainee at the PSU, when the post of the safety officer fell vacant. She was denied the opportunity citing night hours which she challenged.
The Kerala High Court on Friday ruled that a woman who is qualified cannot be denied her right for employment on the ground that she is a woman and the nature of the job involves work during night hours.
Hearing a petition filed by Tresa Josefine, an engineering graduate, working with the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited, a state PSU, challenging the provision put forward by it that for the post of the safety officer only men can apply, the court said such protective provisions cannot stand in the way of employment. The court later set aside the notification of the PSU and said it was violating provisions of the Article 14, 15 & 16 of the Constitution.
“It is the bounden duty of respondents to take all appropriate steps to see that a woman worker is able to carry out duties assigned to her at all hours, safely and conveniently. Protective provisions cannot stand in the way of a woman not being considered for an employment for which she is otherwise eligible,” the single bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman observed.
The petitioner was working as an engineering trainee at the PSU, when the post of the safety officer fell vacant. She was denied the opportunity citing night hours which she challenged. She contended that Section 66 (I) (B) of the Factories Act 1948 was violative of the Constitution_ the said provision mandates that no woman shall be required to work in any factory except between 6 am and 7 pm.
The court observed that provisions of Section 66 (1) (B) are beneficial in nature and are intended to protect women from exploitation but it cannot be used as an excuse for denying a job to the woman.
