BENGALURU: Arguing her case, a 43-year-old woman from Uttara Kannada won the legal battle against the Canara District Central Cooperative Bank, with the Karnataka High Court directing the bank to consider her for a job on compassionate grounds.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Veena from Kanasuru of Siddapura taluk in Uttara Kannada district in 2022, questioning the endorsement dated May 7, 2022, issued by the bank rejecting her claim for appointment on the grounds that "she is a married daughter".
Veena is the daughter of Venkatesh Shet, who began his career as an attendee at the Kanasuru branch of the bank. After putting in 32 years of service, he died in harness in 2007. On the death of Shet, the petitioner's mother submitted a representation seeking a job on compassionate grounds for her daughter. Though she submitted five representations between 2007 and 2010, no answer was given by the bank.
The petitioner also approached the bank to appoint her as an attender on a contractual basis and the bank did so, renewing the contract from time to time only till February 2021.
The petitioner then submitted another representation seeking appointment on compassionate grounds to the post of an attendee, as she was qualified and, in terms of the scheme, entitled as well.
This was not considered, and she approached the court which directed the bank to consider her case. The bank rejected it in April 2022 on the grounds that she is married and does not fit the definition of a 'dependent'. Therefore, she approached the high court again.
Terming the rejection on the basis that she was married as arbitrary and illegal, the court directed Veena to file an affidavit of undertaking before the bank that she would take care of her mother if offered an appointment on compassionate grounds.
"There is no impediment in law to deny such an appointment to the petitioner, as the family even today is poor and not in a position that can be described as beyond 'hand-to-mouth," the court observed.
It pointed out the rules amended by the state government following the order passed by the high court, which ruled that excluding married daughters from jobs on compassionate grounds is unconstitutional. This was also affirmed by the Supreme Court.