The Supreme Court of India has directed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to explain the legal foundations for separating teaching vacancies by gender. A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued this notice while reviewing petitions filed by Jane Kaushik and Praveen Singh. According to LiveLaw, the court specifically questioned why recruitment notifications from the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board continue to rely on a binary classification of male and female candidates. The justices sought to understand how transgender individuals are currently accommodated within this public employment framework, asking the NCT of Delhi to identify the specific constitutional or statutory provisions that mandate such gender-based bifurcation.
The court requested that the Delhi government clarify whether the underlying recruitment rules explicitly require vacancies to be notified based on gender, or if the separation serves a different objective. LiveLaw reported that the bench inquired about the basis for using gender as a primary criterion in public recruitment and whether respondents intend to include a third category in future notifications. The petitioners had previously challenged the exclusion of transgender persons from teaching posts, arguing that the current system denies them equal opportunity. Jane Kaushik’s initial petition resulted in compensation and the formation of a committee headed by Justice Asha Menon to undertake policy reforms. However, the issue persisted because the recruitment notifications remained gender-binary, prompting her to return to the Supreme Court after the High Court directed her to approach the committee.
During the hearing on October 16, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta noted that a separate petition addresses age-related issues, while Kaushik's counsel reminded the court of the request for age relaxation. The court has now asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit within 15 days responding to these specific questions, which will then be shared with the petitioners for a rejoinder. This procedural step aims to resolve the ongoing ambiguity regarding the legal status of gender-based recruitment in the capital's education sector.