Richa Mishra vs. State of Chhattisgarh: Supreme Court Ruling on Age Relaxation for Women Candidates

The case of Richa Mishra vs. State of Chhattisgarh revolved around the eligibility criteria for women candidates regarding age relaxation in public service appointments. The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether women candidates are entitled to an additional age relaxation under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provision for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997 in recruitment for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.S.P.).

Background of the Case

The appellant, Richa Mishra, applied for the post of Dy.S.P. in Chhattisgarh. Despite qualifying through all stages of the selection process, she was denied appointment on the grounds that she exceeded the upper age limit of 25 years prescribed under the Chhattisgarh Police Executive (Gazetted) Service Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 2000 (Rules, 2000). However, she contended that she was entitled to a 10-year age relaxation under the Rules, 1997, applicable to all public service posts in the state.

Petitioner’s Arguments

The appellant, represented by her legal counsel, put forth the following arguments:

• She was already serving as an Excise Sub-Inspector in Bilaspur and should have been eligible for age relaxation as a government servant.
• The Rules, 1997 provided a 10-year age relaxation to women candidates for direct appointments in all state government services.
• The examination rules under which the recruitment process was conducted explicitly included the provision for age relaxation for women.
• The High Court failed to acknowledge the interplay between Rules, 1997 and Rules, 2000, thereby wrongfully denying her the benefit of age relaxation.

Respondent’s Arguments

The State of Chhattisgarh defended its decision with the following arguments:

• The Rules, 2000 did not include any provision for age relaxation for women candidates applying for the post of Dy.S.P.
• The recruitment process was initiated based on requisitions sent in 2004 and 2005, before the implementation of the Chhattisgarh Police Executive (Gazetted) Service Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 2005 (Rules, 2005).
• The advertisement for the post of Dy.S.P. explicitly mentioned the maximum age limit as 25 years, and Richa Mishra did not challenge this restriction at the time of application.

High Court’s Judgment

The High Court ruled in favor of the State, stating:

• The recruitment was governed by Rules, 2000, which did not allow age relaxation for women.
• The Rules, 1997 were not applicable to Dy.S.P. appointments, as specific rules governed police recruitment.
• Since the advertisement had clearly mentioned the upper age limit, she could not claim relaxation under different rules.

Supreme Court’s Decision

The Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s ruling and held that:

• Rules, 1997 provided a general benefit of 10 years of age relaxation to all women candidates for state government jobs.
• The omission of age relaxation for women in Rules, 2000 was unintentional and was later corrected in Rules, 2005, which explicitly incorporated the provision.
• The selection process was conducted under the State Services Examination Rules, 2003, which explicitly allowed age relaxation for women.
• Richa Mishra had ranked 54th in the final merit list, and two lower-ranked candidates (Tarkeshwar Patel and Ranu Sahu) had been appointed, which indicated unfair treatment.

Final Verdict

The Supreme Court directed the State to appoint Richa Mishra as Dy.S.P. with retrospective effect from the date her juniors were appointed. She was granted seniority and pay benefits accordingly, though she would not receive salary arrears for the intervening period.

Conclusion

The judgment reinforced the principle of gender equality in government employment and upheld the importance of affirmative action policies for women. The ruling set a precedent for ensuring that age relaxation benefits for women in state employment are honored, even in cases where specific recruitment rules do not explicitly mention them.

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