Tag: Discrimination

From Paper Rights to Real Rights: Supreme Court Orders Sweeping Reforms for Transgender Community
4Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

From Paper Rights to Real Rights: Supreme Court Orders Sweeping Reforms for Transgender Community

This Supreme Court judgment affirms that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, read with Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Constitution, imposes horizontal obligations on both State and private establishments to prevent discrimination against transgender persons. The Court underscores the State’s positive duty to ensure reasonable accommodation, effective grievance redressal, and substantive equality, holding that legislative and administrative inaction constitutes discriminatory omission. Facts Of The Case: The petitioner, Jane Kaushik, a transgender woman and trained teacher, faced alleged discrimination and termination from two private schools within a year. She was first appointed by the First School in November 2022 but was forced to resign after eight days, citin...
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Supreme Court to Re-examine If Ayurveda, Homeopathy Doctors Should Retire at Same Age as MBBS Doctors
2Jan By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court to Re-examine If Ayurveda, Homeopathy Doctors Should Retire at Same Age as MBBS Doctors

The Supreme Court has referred to a larger bench the question of whether MBBS (allopathic) and AYUSH (indigenous system) doctors can be treated equally for service conditions like retirement age and pay. The Court noted divergent precedents on whether classification based on educational qualification and differing job functions violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. Facts Of The Case: The case involves a batch of Special Leave Petitions concerning the service conditions of doctors, specifically whether practitioners of allopathy (MBBS doctors) and those of indigenous systems like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Unani (AYUSH doctors) can be treated equally, particularly regarding retirement age. The legal dispute stems from varying retirement ages set by different states for the...
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Coal India’s 20% Price Hike for Select Industries Upheld by Supreme Court
1Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Coal India’s 20% Price Hike for Select Industries Upheld by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Coal India's Interim Pricing Policy, ruling that the 20% price increase for the non-core sector was a valid economic policy decision. The Court affirmed that such price fixation, based on reasonable classification and to subserve the common good, does not violate Article 14, and set aside the refund directed by the High Court. Facts Of The Case: Following the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in Ashoka Smokeless that struck down the e-auction system for coal sales, Coal India Limited (CIL) introduced an Interim Coal Policy on December 15, 2006. This policy increased the price of coal by 20% over the pre-e-auction notified price specifically for linked consumers in the non-core sector, such as manufacturers of smokeless fuel. An associat...
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Accessibility is a Right, Not a Charity: Supreme Court’s Powerful Ruling on Disability
1Nov By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Accessibility is a Right, Not a Charity: Supreme Court’s Powerful Ruling on Disability

This Supreme Court judgment establishes a comprehensive monitoring framework, "Project Ability Empowerment," to audit state-run disability care institutions nationwide. It directs compliance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, emphasizing substantive equality, accessibility, and community living. The Court also mandates a review of reservation policies to include "upward movement" for meritorious disabled candidates. Facts Of The Case: The litigation originates from two consolidated petitions. The first, a 1998 Writ Petition by the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation, sought the enforcement of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, specifically demanding the implementation of reservation for persons with visual disabilities in teaching posts. The second case began a...
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Supreme Court Upholds “Equal Pay for Equal Work” for Contractual Assistant Professors
25Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds “Equal Pay for Equal Work” for Contractual Assistant Professors

The Supreme Court affirmed the principle of "equal pay for equal work" for contractually appointed Assistant Professors performing identical duties as their regular and ad-hoc counterparts. It directed the State to pay them the minimum of the pay scale applicable to the post, holding that the nature of the appointment (contractual) does not negate the entitlement to pay parity when the work is the same. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from the State of Gujarat where a significant number of sanctioned posts for Assistant Professors in Government Engineering and Polytechnic colleges remained vacant for years. To address this shortage, the state government made appointments on both ad hoc and contractual bases. The respondents were Assistant Professors appointed on a contractua...
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Supreme Court Slams Differential Pay, Upholds Fair Value for Fruit Trees on Acquired Land
19Sep By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Slams Differential Pay, Upholds Fair Value for Fruit Trees on Acquired Land

The Supreme Court ruled that similarly situated landowners must receive equal compensation in land acquisition cases. It held that a prior judicial decision awarding a higher multiplier for identical orange trees constituted a "special circumstance," justifying the restoration of a 15x multiplier over a reduced 10x multiplier to prevent discriminatory treatment. Facts Of The Case: The case involved the appellants, landowners from village Khanapur in Akola district, whose land was acquired by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation pursuant to a notification issued under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 in August 1995. Possession was taken in April 1996. Dissatisfied with the compensation, the landowners sought a reference to a civil court. In its 2011 award, the reference court gra...
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Supreme Court Upholds National Fraternity: Teaching Experience Across India Counts
26Aug By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Upholds National Fraternity: Teaching Experience Across India Counts

The Supreme Court held that a government notification extending the retirement age must be interpreted purposively, and a condition requiring "10 years of teaching experience in any State-aided university" includes experience from universities outside the state. Excluding such experience was found to be an arbitrary and discriminatory classification violating the right to equality under Article 14. Facts Of The Case: The appellant was initially appointed as a teacher in a government college in Assam in 1991, where he served for 16 years. In 2007, he was selected for a non-teaching post at Burdwan University, West Bengal, based on his qualifications and experience, and was later promoted in 2012. In 2021, the State of West Bengal issued a notification increasing the retirement age from 60...
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Big Relief for Mothers: Supreme Court Backs Woman’s Right to Benefit After Remarriage
11Jun By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Big Relief for Mothers: Supreme Court Backs Woman’s Right to Benefit After Remarriage

The Supreme Court ruled that K. Umadevi is entitled to maternity leave under FR 101(a), setting aside the High Court Division Bench's decision. The Court emphasized a purposive and liberal interpretation of maternity benefit provisions, aligning with reproductive rights under Article 21 of the Constitution and international conventions, irrespective of prior children not in the mother's custody or born from a previous marriage. Facts Of The Case: K. Umadevi, the appellant, married A. Suresh in 2006, having two children from this wedlock in 2007 and 2011. Their marriage was dissolved in 2017, and the children remained in the custody of her former husband. In December 2012, she joined government service as an English Teacher in Tamil Nadu. On September 12, 2018, the appellant remarried M...
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Big Win for Disabled Workers: Supreme Court Strikes Down Discriminatory GO on Seniority and Promotion
10Jun By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

Big Win for Disabled Workers: Supreme Court Strikes Down Discriminatory GO on Seniority and Promotion

The Supreme Court overturned the Kerala High Court's judgments, restoring previous orders that granted benefits of seniority, probation, and promotion to appellants with benchmark disabilities. The Court found the State Government's subsequent order, which sought to deny these benefits to those regularly appointed on supernumerary posts, to be discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court affirmed that once regular appointments were made, associated benefits could not be withdrawn. Facts Of The Case: The appellants are individuals with benchmark physical disabilities exceeding 40% who were temporarily engaged in various public institutions in Kerala under Rule 9(a)(i) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1958, for periods not exceeding 179 days. ...
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No Arrears for RBI Pension Opt-Ins: Supreme Court Reinforces Policy Decisions on Pension Benefits
10Jun By The Legal ChamberNo Comments
Supreme Court

No Arrears for RBI Pension Opt-Ins: Supreme Court Reinforces Policy Decisions on Pension Benefits

The Supreme Court of India upheld the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision to fix a cut-off date (July 1, 2020) for pensionary benefits for employees switching from the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) scheme, rejecting the claim for retrospective arrears from the date of retirement. The Court emphasized that financial implications and administrative exigencies are valid considerations for policy decisions and that employees cannot selectively accept beneficial terms while rejecting unfavorable ones. Facts Of The Case: M.T. Mani, Respondent No. 1, joined the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1981 and was a member of the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) Scheme. He retired as a Manager on November 30, 2014, having received four prior opportunities between 1990 and 2000 to switch to the Pe...
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