The Supreme Court has ordered Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) to pay ₹12 lakh in compensation to Sumitra, a qualified woman candidate. Around 38 years ago, IOC refused to offer her a job, saying that “a woman would not be able to lift cylinders.”
The woman has now reached retirement age. Therefore, instead of offering her a job, the court decided to award her ₹12 lakh in compensation. A bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M Pancholi strongly criticised the corporation, saying that denying a job solely because she was a woman was an insult to womanhood.
Here is the full case…
Sumitra Sumitra, a resident of Gudha village in Haryana, was among the 49 people recommended by a local committee headed by the deputy commissioner for the posts of refilling helper or casual khalasi at the LPG bottling plant.
The case concerns a woman living in Gudha village. In 1988, her name was included in a list of 49 people recommended by a local committee headed by the deputy commissioner for the Indian Oil Corporation’s LPG bottling plant.
The woman had interviewed for the post of khalasi, peon or refilling helper. However, she was not given a job, while the others on the list were issued appointment letters. She then approached the trial court against the decision not to give her the job.
The trial court held that the woman met the qualifications prescribed for the job. The court also cited a witness’s statement, which indicated that she was denied the job solely because she was a woman.
However, the IOC appealed against the trial court’s verdict, and on 6 August 1993, the first appellate court overturned it. The case then reached the Haryana High Court and, subsequently, the Supreme Court.
Don’t women lift gas cylinders at home, too? Court
Indian Oil’s lawyer had argued that the job involved lifting heavy LPG cylinders and working night shifts, and that the officials may therefore have considered the woman unsuitable. The court asked the lawyer, “Don’t women lift gas cylinders at home?”
The court said, “We are from India and speak every day about respecting women. We say that a woman is like a goddess. In such a situation, this is an insult to women’s dignity on the part of an undertaking of the Government of India.”
