Rajasthan HC upholds 100 pc reservation in service for women

The division bench of the High Court reversed the finding of a single judge bench of Justice Shiv Kumar Sharma.The single judge while hearing a writ petition filed by Narendra Sharma has held that service rule providing 100 per cent reservation for the post for women candidates is ultra vires.

The petitioner has challenged section 5 (1) of Rajasthan Civil Services (special selection and special conditions of service of project directors, project officers and other officers in the women development project) Rules 1984 wherein it was provided that all the post for the various projects concerning women development shall be hold by women candidates only.

The government had then also issued a notification in this regard.The government in 1998 invited applications for certain posts of project officers to be filld by women candidates only.

A candidate, Narendra Sharma applied after the last date of application and even without holding a requisite minimum qualification as then prescribed.Application of Sharma was rejected on various grounds, besides the fact that the posts were actually reserved for women only.

In a writ petition filed challenging the reservation provision, the High Court declared the same a bad.On an appeal filed by the state government, the division bench of Justice Dalip Singh and Justice S S Kothari reversed the findings of High Court on Thursday.
"The court was told that a similar provision was made for appointments on the post of principal and hostel warden in women colleges in Punjab state and the Supreme Court has held the same as constitutional.

Further it was contended that the state under powers of reservation under Article 15 read with Article 16 of the Constitution was well within the powers to have made such special provision for women in employment under state services.

Upholding the contention the court has delivered a landmark judgement,"The division bench took note of the fact that Rajasthan is geographically a deprived state and there is huge disparity in the gender ratio too as such when a project is specially and exclusively meant for women alone than there is no ambiguity in the provision made by the government for women candidates."