Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday termed the GO 316 issued by the home department on 17 August 1996, restricting promotion to the post of the superintendent of jails only to male officers who are in the post of deputy superintendent of jails and avoiding females who are in the same category as discriminatory.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice A. Rajasheker Reddy faulted the GO as it was discriminatory towards women who were competent in tackling duties at any level. The bench said the GO and the rules annexed to it were discriminatory and in violation of Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
The bench delivered its ruling in a petition filed by T. Venkatalakshmi Srinadh, deputy superintendent of jails, attached to Chanchalguda prison for women. She challenged the GO, which was adopted by the Telangana government after the separate state was carved out.
Her grievance was that due to the said rules in the GO, she could not be promoted to as superintendent of jails and her junior male officers were posted as superintendents.
Senior counsel Vidyasagar argued on behalf of the petitioner, citing the apex court orders, which allowed women to perform duties in all levels of posts.
The court directed the home department to promote Venkatalakshmi as the superintendent of jails.
