Air India, a state-owned company, required female flight attendants to retire under three circumstances: (1) upon reaching 35 years of age, with possible extensions up to 45 at the Managing Director’s discretion (2) upon getting married within the first four years of service, or (3) upon first pregnancy. In Air India v.
In Ali v. State & Ors the Delhi High Court struck down the court’s gate pass policy that required photo ID and justification for entry. It held the policy unconstitutional for violating the open court principle under Indian procedural law by limiting access to listed litigants or those inspecting records. The Court found the rule disproportionately burdened vulnerable groups, including the poor, women, and children, and risked denying access to justice.
Amit Sundra v. Sheetal Khanna was a domestic violence case under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The Delhi High Court vacated a stay the husband had obtained on a Magistrate Court’s order allowing the wife to reside in the marital home and receive monthly maintenance.
A father alleged that his son-in-law had kidnapped his daughter. The daughter showed that she was of age and had married of her own free will. The court held that a family can have no control over who an adult chooses to marry.
In the case Association for Social Justice Research v. Union of India, a public interest petition was filed after an 11–12-year-old girl was allegedly married off by her father to a much older man. When the girl was found and medically examined, her age was assessed to be between 16 and 18. She told the Court she had married voluntarily and denied any money was exchanged.
In 2011, the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice hosted a conference in New Delhi, India on the theme “Gender-Based Violence and Justice in South Asia.” This conference brought together over 230 participants from 16 countries, including judges, activists, scholars, and survivors, to discuss strategies to combat gender-based violence (GBV) across South Asia and globally. The conference focused on:
The Plaintiff worked as a cashier at King Palace Chinese Restaurant, which was operated by King of the King Group Limited (“Defendant”). The Plaintiff alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Mr. Leung, an employee of the Defendant, who made a sexual remark to the Plaintiff and also touched the Plaintiff’s chest. Immediately after the incident, the Plaintiff reported it to her direct supervisor, who promised to follow up on the incident, but did not do so.
In the case Bachcha v. State of U.P., a man took a six year-old girl into his house, removed her clothes and masturbated until he ejaculated on her stomach. The prosecution charged that he was found in the act of raping the girl, but the medical evidence showed that he could not have done so. The Court held that he could be found guilty of an "offence to modesty," which the Court defined as any action that would be shocking the sense of decency of a woman.
In Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India & Others, the non-governmental organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan petitioned the Supreme Court of India to address the use of child performers in traveling circuses. A study revealed that children were being trafficked from Nepal or taken from their homes, forced to work as child laborers, and subjected to mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
