Corporation directed to give job to woman

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Chennai Corporation to provide a job on compassionate ground to a woman whose father met with an accident, became insane and ran away from a mental hospital and declared dead after 13 years and in the meantime got married.R Narayanan, while working as lorry cleaner in a depot in the city, met with an accident and became insane. He was admitted in the Government Mental Hospital, from where he disappeared. K Padmavathy, the daughter, applied for a suitable job on compassionate ground in December, 1998. It was rejected as there was a ban on recruitment. After the ban was lifted in February, 2006, she applied, but it was again rejected on the ground that appointment on compassionate ground could not be granted to the legal representative of the employee who was missing. She obtained an order from a civil court to the effect that her father was presumed dead, in October, 2000. Meanwhile, she also got married to her maternal uncle. When applied again, it was rejected on the ground that no job could be given to a married woman. Hence, the present writ petition. Justice TS Sivagnanam, before whom the petition came up for hearing, set aside the rejection order after holding that it was void and not sustainable in law. He directed the Corporation to consider the case of petitioner and grant appointment and if necessary pass orders for relaxing the age qualification. “Since this is a peculiar case where the petitioner’s father was missing and not traceable and the police certified this fact after 13 years, she and her mother were compelled to approach the civil court and obtained a declaratory decree that her father is presumed to be dead and thereafter had to pursue her claim for compassionate appointment, which was rejected.”