Bombay HC allows Mahatransco recruitment process to go on until state formulates a transgender policy

The bench said the transgender petitioner could try entering the service on merit instead of a reservation until a policy was formulated.

Vidya, Mumbai,

The Bombay High Court has said the Maharashtra government can go ahead and publish the results of 223 candidates who have been selected for various posts in the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (MSETCL), also called Mahatransco.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice SG Gangapurwala and Justice SV Marne was hearing a petition by a transgender Vinayak Kashid, a graduate in Electrical Engineering and a post-graduate in Technology (Electrical Power System Engineering) course.

Advocate Kranti LC said that if the state goes ahead with publishing the result, then his client will be adversely affected. He stressed that the state should be restrained from publishing the result.

However, advocate Abhijeet Joshi, appearing for Mahatransco, opposed it saying that the state will take some more time to formalise the policy on transgender recruitment and the entire recruitment process cannot be kept on hold until then.

Assistant Government pleader Manish Pable informed the court that petitioner Kashid had applied in the transgender as well as the orphan category. He further stated that in another similar matter where a transgender person had come to court seeking recruitment in police service, the state had already been given time till February 28 to formulate a policy on the issue.

However, the bench was of the view that the entire process cannot be stayed for more than a month and that the transgender petitioner could at present try entering the service based on merit instead of getting through a reservation until a policy is formulated. The bench also issued a notice to the Advocate General of Maharashtra and has kept the petition for further hearing on February 27.

Courtesy : India Today

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