High Court pulls up Gujarat panel for asking 2-day-old mom to travel 300 km for job related interview
High Court pulls up Gujarat panel for asking 2-day-old mom to travel 300 km for job related interview
The Gujarat High Court has slammed the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC), condemning it for demonstrating ‘complete gender insensitivity’ in rejecting a pregnant woman’s plea for a rescheduled interview date during her advanced stage of pregnancy.
The court of Justice Nikhil Kariel said interference was required in the plea filed by the candidate and issued notice to GPSC. Gujarat HC has pulled up the state public service commission for “absolute gender insensitivity” after it turned down the request of a candidate to either postpone her interview or provide an alternative as she could not appear for the same two days after delivering a baby.
The petitioner, who cleared the written exam for selection to the post for which an advertisement was published by GPSC in 2020, was informed on December 18, 2023 about the interview dates on January 1 or 2 2024. The applicant (petitioner) had written to the GPSC on the same day that she was pregnant and the due date for her delivery was scheduled in the first week of January. She informed that it would be impossible for her to travel to Gandhinagar, which is almost 300 km to travel in the advanced stage of pregnancy.
The petitioner gave birth on December 31, 2023, and wrote to the GPSC through an email that she had delivered a baby and appealed that the interview be postponed or she be given an alternative solution.
In its reply to the petitioner’s mail, GPSC informed the petitioner to attend the interview on January 2 and also stated that no further time would be granted to her for appearing for the interview.
The court in its response said that when a reasonable request was made by the candidate, the GPSC should have postponed the interview or provided an alternative solution, or even should have conducted an online interview, if it was permissible as per the rules, the court said.
Justice Nikhil Kariel informed that the court has directed the GPSC to refrain from announcing the results until the resolution of the petition.
