Fewer Girls' Schools Cannot Justify Denying Women Teachers Promotion Consideration: Rajasthan High Court

The five petitioners, women working as Teacher Grade III, had been appointed in boys' and girls' schools along with male teachers (para 11). For promotion to Teacher Grade II against the vacancies of 2008-09 and 2009-10, the respondents prepared two seniority lists, one for men and one for women, keeping male teachers appointed up to 1998 but female teachers appointed only up to 1986, twelve years behind (paras 5, 11). The petitioners sought inclusion in the eligibility list on par with the male teachers and promotion with consequential benefits (paras 6-7). The State's case was that male and female teachers form separate categories and that boys' schools outnumber girls' schools (para 9).

Retaining men appointed up to 1998 but women only up to 1986 caused gender discrimination, violated the petitioners' rights under Articles 14, 15(1), 16 and 21 and was arbitrary (para 11). Though framed on the demand for teachers of each gender, the classification's impact fell on women teachers, entrenched existing inequality and implied that only men are competent to teach in boys' schools (para 16). The traditional test of intelligible differentia and rational nexus would not capture this (paras 17, 20). Following Navtej Singh Johar, the Court held that a measure is judged by its effect on fundamental rights, and discrimination grounded in sex stereotypes cannot survive Article 15(1) (paras 18-19). The rule favoured men on an archaic stereotype, not on evidence of better educational outcomes (para 20). Articles 15(1) and 16(2) admit no restriction of the kind Article 19 allows, leaving no scope to differentiate between the sexes in appointment and promotion (para 21). Relying on Ajay Kumar Shukla, consideration for promotion is a fundamental right (para 22); the petitioners' non-consideration violated Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21, and fixing the seniority list on the number of boys' schools was a serious error of law (para 23).