Air India v. Nargesh Meerza
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. Nargesh Meerza, the Court upheld the requirement that female flight attendants retire at age 35, with possible extensions up to 45 at the Managing Director’s discretion, finding it based on reasonable classification linked to the nature of the job. The Court accepted that female air hostesses and male pursers had different job requirements, so different retirement ages did not amount to unconstitutional discrimination under Article 14. The rule mandating termination if a flight attendant married within the first four years of service was struck down as arbitrary. The requirement to seek prior permission for marriage was upheld, provided it was not unreasonably withheld. The reasoning was that some workplace administrative control over timing could be justified for scheduling and operational reasons; but automatic termination just because someone got married within four years was not acceptable. The rule requiring retirement upon first pregnancy was held to be unconstitutional and invalid.
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Year
- 1981
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