Kerala High Court: Women Can’t Be Denied Employment Saying Work Involves Night Hours

Name of the case

Treasa Josfine v. State of Kerala

Background Facts

• The petitioner is an engineering graduate engaged in Kerala Minerals and Metal Ltd.as a safety Graduate Engineer Trainee.
• A notification was issued for a permanent post of Safety Officer which stated that only male candidates can apply for the post.
• The petitioner challenged this notification claiming it to be violative of her fundamental rights.

Provision Invoked

• The notification issued by the state PSU was challenged along with the Section 66 (1) (b) of the Factories Act of 1948.
• The said provision prescribes protection to women by laying down that “no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between 6 A.M. to 7 P.M.

Analysis

• The provision is beneficial to the women as there have been past instances where women have been forced to work beyond their working hours.
• The social standing of women on the basis of the roles that they are supposed to play leads to gender based discrimination.
• The men and women when equally qualified should be given an equal opportunity for employment.

Observation of the Court

• The Court was of the opinion that the provision cannot be used as an excuse to deny women of their fundamental rights under Article 14, 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution.
• The State of Kerala has rules pertaining to employment of women after appropriate safety measures and facilities are taken for such engagement.
• If there are proper steps to ensure the safety of the women working in all hours, there would be no requirement of denying a qualified person to take up the duties.
• The provision is only protective in nature and should not be used as an excuse to deny rights to a woman on the basis of her gender.

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