SC orders IOC to pay Rs 12 lakh to woman denied job over gender

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Indian Oil Corporation to pay Rs 12 lakh compensation to a woman who was denied a job as a refilling helper at an LPG bottling plant because of her gender. A bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M Pancholi called the discrimination an affront to womanhood, especially by a government undertaking. The court rejected the corporation's argument that the job required lifting cylinders and night shifts, with Justice Kumar observing that women routinely lift gas cylinders at home.

The petitioner, a resident of village Gudha, was among 49 candidates recommended by a local committee for employment at an IOC plant. While 43 others received appointment letters, she was not appointed. The trial court had ruled in her favour, but the first appellate court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court later held she had no vested right to appointment. Since she has now reached retirement age, the Supreme Court awarded lump-sum compensation instead of a job. The court also refused the corporation's request to refer the matter to mediation.