Supreme Court: A woman cannot be fired because of her marriage

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ordered the Center to pay Rs 60 lakh to a permanent commissioned officer from the Military Nursing Service who was released from her job in 1988 after her marriage, noting that any law that makes marriage of women employees and their domestic involvement a ground for disentitlement is unconstitutional.

“Tolerating such a patriarchal regulation diminishes human worth and the entitlement to equality without discrimination,” the court said during the hearing of the Center’s appeal against a decision for her reinstatement from the Armed Forces Tribunal.
A panel of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta ordered that Lt. Selina John be given the sum as a complete and final settlement of all the claims, ending the 26-year legal fight of the woman officer.

According to Army Instruction No. 61 of 1977, “Terms and Conditions of Service for the Grant of Permanent Commissions in the Military Nursing Service,” her employment was terminated; however, in 1995, while the lawsuit was still ongoing, the instruction was rescinded.

The Armed Forces Tribunal’s ruling for her reinstatement was being challenged by the Center, and the court found that John’s discharge from the Military Nursing Service was improper and unlawful.

“Ex. Lt. Selina John, the respondent, was a permanent commissioned officer in the Military Nursing Service. We are unwilling to accept any claim that she might have been dismissed or discharged due to her marriage. It is acknowledged that this restriction solely applied to female nursing officers. This restriction was, at first glance, obviously arbitrary, as it would be unethical to fire a woman for getting married—a clear example of gender disparity and discrimination. It said that accepting such patriarchal control compromises people’s rights to fair treatment, nondiscrimination, and human dignity.

“Gender-based laws and regulations are unconstitutional according to the constitution. Regulations that deemed a woman employee’s marriage and her role in the home as grounds for denial of benefits would be unlawful, the court said.
In this instance, John was appointed as a trainee at Army Hospital, Delhi, in 1982 after being chosen in compliance with MNS regulations.

She was assigned to Military Hospital, Secunderabad, after being commissioned as a Lieutenant in the MNS in 1985. In 1988, she married an Army officer. She was discharged from the Army on August 27, 1988, under an order that did not provide her with a notice to show cause, a hearing, or a chance to present her case. She was given the rank of Lieutenant (Lt).
She appealed her dismissal at the Allahabad High Court. She filed a plea at AFT,

Lucknow, which granted the ruling in her favor in 2016, in response to the HC’s request that she seek the tribunal. She then requested that the Center reinstate her. The government then petitioned the supreme court, which declared her dismissal unlawful and mandated that she receive a one-time payment of Rs. 60 lakh in lieu of having her employment reinstated.