Supreme Court orders Centre to compensate dismissed military nurse with Rs 60 lakh

Referring to it as a "coarse case of gender discrimination," the Supreme Court has ordered the Centre to compensate a military nurse who was discharged from duty in 1988 following her marriage with Rs 60 lakh.
"Acceptance of such a patriarchal rule undermines human dignity and the right to non-discrimination," a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said.

Lt. Selina John's departure from the Military Nursing Service was ruled to be improper and unlawful by the highest court. The bench also pointed out that in 1995, a regulation permitting termination from the Military Nursing Service on the grounds of marital status was removed.
"Laws and regulations based on gender-based bias are constitutionally impermissible. Rules making marriage of women employees and their domestic involvement a ground for disentitlement would be unconstitutional," the Supreme Court said.

The Armed Forces Tribunal had issued an order requesting John's reinstatement, and the Centre was appealing that decision to the court.

The Centre was mandated by the Supreme Court to provide John Rs 60 lakh within eight weeks.

According to a story in The Times of India, Selina John was chosen for Military Nursing Service in 1982 and enrolled as a trainee at Army Hospital, Delhi.

She was assigned to Secunderabad after being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Military Nursing Service in 1985. She married an Army officer three years later.

She was discharged from the Army on August 27, 1988, without being given a reason for the dismissal. She did not even get a chance to present her case.

John then appealed her dismissal in a petition to the Allahabad High Court. She was instructed to seek the tribunal first by the High Court. 2016 saw a request for her position to be reinstated from the Armed Forces Tribunal in Lucknow. The Supreme Court was then moved by the administration.