The Telangana High Court has ruled that a married daughter cannot be denied compassionate appointment solely because of her marital status, directing the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) to provide a job to a woman whose application was rejected on that ground.
Justice EV Venugopal passed the order in the case of Kumbam Jyothi of Nalgonda, ending a 12-year legal battle over her eligibility for employment with the southern discom. The court held that an otherwise eligible woman candidate cannot be excluded from consideration merely because she is married.
Jyothi’s father, K Ramakrishna Reddy, worked as an assistant lineman with the discom and died on June 4, 2014. According to the case details reported by the Times of India, Jyothi said that there was no earning member in the family after his death. She also stated that both she and her husband were unemployed when she applied for compassionate appointment.
The discom rejected her application on the basis that she was a married daughter and was therefore ineligible under the applicable rules. That decision became the central issue before the High Court, which considered whether marital status could be used to exclude an otherwise eligible daughter from employment consideration.
During the hearing, counsel for Jyothi relied on Supreme Court judgments and argued that a classification distinguishing between a son and a daughter was unconstitutional. The argument challenged the use of gender and marital status as grounds for denying access to a support mechanism intended for families affected by the death of an employee.
Counsel for TGSPDCL argued that compassionate appointment could not be claimed as a matter of right. The discom also submitted that such appointments were subject to the organisation’s rules, eligibility criteria and the availability of vacancies.
The High Court allowed Jyothi’s petition and directed TGSPDCL to issue orders granting her compassionate appointment. The ruling does not remove the requirement that applicants meet applicable eligibility conditions or that appointments follow the organisation’s rules and vacancy position. It establishes, however, that marriage alone cannot be used to disqualify an otherwise eligible woman candidate.
The case places the administrative treatment of daughters within a broader question of how public institutions apply employment rules after the death of a worker. For families dependent on a single public-sector income, the distinction between a married and unmarried daughter can determine whether a surviving member is considered for employment support. In Jyothi’s case, the court has directed the discom to complete the appointment process rather than continue excluding her on marital-status grounds.
TGSPDCL is now required to issue the orders granting compassionate appointment to Jyothi, in accordance with the High Court’s direction.
