C.B. Muthamma case
Also called: C.B. Muthamma v. Union of India (1979) · Topic: Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"
Meaning
C.B. Muthamma v. Union of India (1979) is a Supreme Court judgment against sex discrimination in government jobs. A bench led by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer struck down Indian Foreign Service rules that treated women officers unfairly. The Court held that these rules broke the guarantee of equality in public employment under Articles 14 and 16.
Example
In 1949, C.B. Muthamma became the first woman in the Indian Foreign Service. She had to promise to resign if she married, a condition that did not apply to men. The 1979 judgment struck down this kind of rule. Class 7 NCERT ("The State, the Government, and You") uses the case.
Don't confuse with
- Air India v. Nargesh Meerza (1981): this is a separate case about service rules for women cabin crew in Air India. Muthamma was about the Foreign Service.
Related concepts
- Prohibition of discrimination
- Special provisions for women and children
- Special provisions for backward classes
- Equality of opportunity in public employment
- Residence requirement in public employment
- Untouchability
- Abolition of titles
- Balaji Raghavan case