MUMBAI: A young woman whose dream of joining the police force seemed to crash around her feet four years ago after a medical test declared her “male” is finally set to join the force, albeit in a non-constabulary post, as the high court asked the state to consider her case sympathetically.
Withthe state agreeing to treat her as a special case, Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Madhav Jamdar last week said on receipt of the police recommendation, the state should take “an appropriate decision,
keeping in mind the special facts of this case, as expeditiously as possible and in any event, within 4 weeks”. The police department will have to implement the decision in another four weeks.
When she was 19, she had applied for the Nashik Rural Police Recruitment 2018 under the scheduled caste category. She appeared for the written and physical tests and scored 171 out of 200 marks. She was sent to JJ Hospital for medical examination, where a sonography revealed “her uterus and ovaries were absent and a prostate-like struc- ture was seen at the base of her bladder”. A karyotyping test at the National Institute of Immuno-haematology (KEM Hospital) showed she has both “XY” (male and female) chromosomes and opined that she is male.
She was shocked. But she refused to give up. She moved the Bombay HC, saying she had lived as a female right from birth and all her educational certificates and personal documents were registered with a female name. She cannot be denied recruitment only because of the karyotyping (a test to examine chromosomes in sample cells provided) results now and urged the HC to direct the state to issue her an appointment letter.
Her petition said she is the eldest of three children of labourers and detailed her struggle. Through her advocate Vijaykumar Garad, she said she was firm on a police job, even if it meant working in a non-constabulary post. In an earlier hearing, the judges had requested advocate-general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to consider her case sympathetically. He returned and informed that the state has decided to accommodate her as a special case in anon-constabulary post.
The judges interacted with the woman in chambers on May 6 and learnt that she had excelled academically.
Lived all my life as female, police aspirant told court
A young woman who had passed the exams for police recruitment but was disqualified as a chromosome test said she was ‘male’ refused to give up. She moved the Bombay high court, saying she had lived as a female right from birth and all her educational certificates and personal documents were registered with a female name. She cannot be denied recruitment only because of the karyotyping (a test to examine chromosomes in sample cells provided) results now and urged the high court to direct the state to issue her an appointment letter.
Her petition said she is the eldest of three children of labourers and detailed her struggle. Through her advocate Vijaykumar Garad, she said she was firm on a police job, even if it meant working in a nonconstabulary post. In an earlier hearing, the judges had requested advocate-general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to consider her case sympathetically. He returned and informed that the state has decided to accommodate her as a special case in anon-constabulary post.
The judges interacted with the woman on May 6 and learnt she had passed BA with distinction and is pursuing her MA. She told them she wanted agovernment job so that she could support her family. She
had been unaware that her anatomy was different and learnt of it only when she was sent for the karyotyping test.
“It is an extremely unfortunate case. . . No fault can be found in the petitioner as throughout, she has pursued her career as a female. . . has all female attributes,” said the judges.
Kumbhakoni said the special IG (Nashik) will submit a recommendation to the additional chief secretary (home) keeping in mind her qualification. He assured that the terms and benefits of employment would be extended to her on a par with other normally recruited employees. The state would take a decision within two months.
“The petitioner, selected in 2018, is waiting to be appointed since then. The wait has already been too long,” said the judges, and gave the state and police together two months to appoint her in the police department.
