Right Of Woman Employee Can’t Be Curtailed On Basis Of Gender: Tripura High Court Orders Female Petitioner To Be Considered For Promotion
The petitioner approached the Tripura High Court seeking the quashing of the impugned decision of the Inspector General of Prisons.
While quashing a communication passed by the Inspector General of Prisons, the Tripura High Court has held that on the basis of gender discrimination, the right of an employee being woman cannot be curtailed by the Authority for promotion.
The petitioner sought quashing/setting aside the impugned decision of the Inspector General of Prisons not finding the petitioner eligible for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Home (Jail) Department.
The Single Bench of Justice Biswajit Palit held, “It is also the settled position of law that as a matter of right a person cannot claim promotion from the Department but at the same time it is also true that promotion is considered by the authority if the performance of a particular employee is satisfactory to his/her earlier post which he/she was serving. In this case, the petitioner promoted to the post of Jailor from the post of Sub-Jailor in the year 2018 and since then she was discharging the functions as Jailor initially in the Kendriya Sansodhanagar Bishalgarh and thereafter in Sonamura Jail till date satisfactorily and as per recruitment rules, she was eligible for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent although, by this time, the Government has promoted one Prasenjit Das as Deputy Superintendent on 04.05.2022.Furthermore, on the basis of gender discrimination the right of the petitioner being woman cannot be curtailed by the Authority for promotion.”
Advocate Rajasree Purkayastha represented the Petitioner while Advocate General Saktimoy Chakraborty represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
The case as set up by the petitioner was that she joined in the service as a Female Sub-Jailor under Home (Jail) Department through TPSC and since then she was serving sincerely without any barrier or blemish on her service record. The petitioner had claimed that as per the recruitment rules, the post of Deputy Superintendent should be filled up by promotion from Jailor/Probation Officer with 5 years of experience in the grade. The Tripura Sansodhanagar Rules, 2021 came into effect w.e.f. December 8, 2021 and after implementation of the said rules, promotion was given to one Prasenjit Das to the post of Deputy Superintendent on May 4, 2022. As per the petitioner, despite having eligibility, on completion of 5 years of service as a Female Jailor on October 4, 2023, the petitioner was not given a promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent.
Reasoning
On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that the petitioner, who had joined as Female Sub-Jailor on September 24, 1997, was promoted to the post of Jailor. It was further noticed that the Government of Tripura had framed separate recruitment rules for the post of Female Jailor, and the respondents in the counter affidavit could not submit anything adverse against the performance of the present petitioner as Sub-Jailor and thereafter as Jailor during her entire period of service.
Considering that the petitioner was promoted to the post of Jailor from the post of Sub-Jailor in the year 2018 and since then she had been discharging the functions as Jailor satisfactorily as per recruitment rules, the Bench held that she was eligible for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent.
“In the recruitment rules relied upon by the petitioner, it appears that there is no gender discrimination in the said recruitment rules regarding promotion of any Female Jailor to the post of Deputy Superintendent. So, in absence of any specific rule there is no legal scope to deprive the petitioner to be promoted to the post of Deputy Superintendent (Home) Jail on the ground of gender discrimination”, it added.
The Bench also found that the impugned communication appeared to be contrary to the recruitment rules framed by the Government vide Notification dated September 10, 1982 and the judgment of the coordinate Bench directing the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent was not complied with.
Allowing the writ petition filed by the petitioner, the Bench quashed the communication of the Inspector General of Prisons, Tripura and directed, “The respondents authority may consider the case of the petitioner within a period of 3(three) months for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent (Home) Jail, if she is found eligible in all criteria and also in accordance with the norms.”
Cause Title: Smti. Bela Datta v. The State of Tripura (Neutral Citation: 2026:THC:794)
Appearance
Petitioner: Advocate Rajasree Purkayastha
Respondent: Adv. General Saktimoy Chakraborty, Senior Govt. Advocate Pradyumna Gautam