The main legal point established in the judgment is that the differential treatment of women in employment, based on the nature of work and the need to protect them from hazards, does not violate the constitutional rights of equality and non-discrimination.

G.H. Guttal, J.

1. The question for consideration is whether the policy of the Cochin Port Trust to exclude women from employment as shed clerks, due to the hazardous nature of the duty, is violative of Art.14 and 15 of the Constitution of India.

2. The Cochin Port Trust and its officers are respondents 1, 2 and 3. The respondent Nos. 4 and 5 are respectively the Divisional Employment Officer and the Director, Employment Exchanges, Trivandrum. The Ministry of Shipping and Surface Transport and the Law Society of India are respondents 6 and 7, respectively.

3. The Cochin Port Trust, the respondent No. 1 . herein is "State" within the meaning of Art.12 of the Constitution of India. It employs over 50 per cent women in various departments, such as the hospitals, telephone exchanges, offices and so on. The established policy of the Cochin Port Trust, hereinafter referred to as "The Port Trust" which was never departed from in the past, is to exclude women from employment as shed clerks. The petitioners are women registered for employment with the employment exchanges, They urge that the policy of the Port Trust to exclude women from employment as shed clerks is violative of Art.14 and 15 of the Constitution of India. They seek a direction that the petitioners be invited for appointment and appointed as shed clerks.

4. The Port Trust deny that the policy is discriminatory and urge that women have been excluded from appointment as shed clerks (a) with the object of protecting them from the hazardous work and (b) by reason of sensitiveness of their sex and peculiarities of social factors.

5. It is therefore necessary to understand the nature of the duties of the shed clerks. The shed clerk performs duties at various places in the port. While accepting cargo for shipment he is known as the receiving clerk. When he works in the shipment area he is known as the shipment clerk.

The special features of duties of shed clerk are outlined below:

(i) He has to work in shifts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. If his reliever does not report he may have to continue till relieved.

(ii) The hazard involved in the work is illustrated by the following facts:

The shed clerk has to handle huge packages weighing approximately 30 tonnes. Such parcels/packages are not parcels normally handled in the post offices or other places.

The delivery clerk has to deliver the. cargo of such large sizes and weight and prepare the export manifest, after noting their description.

As receiving clerk he has to receive the same packages after inspecting them and compare them with delivery record. The packages are then stored for shipment.

As shipment clerk he has to check each of the huge parcels, compare the entries with the receiving records, and deliver them at the shipment wharf. The shipment wharf is a place where cargo is moved by cranes, fork lifts and other related equipments. It is an accident prone area. It demands quick movement of feet in the midst of the moving cargo and the cargo handling equipment. It is therefore a hazardous job.

(iii) Lastly the work of a shed clerk involves presence not at the office but at various places in the port depending upon the place where the cargo has to be handled. The spots where the shed clerk has to work are away from the main building. They are isolated places. The shed clerk is alone at such spots for long periods of time.

6. The guarantee of equality before law and equal protection of the laws Art.14. Equality before law. The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India under Art.14 of the Constitution of India confers a general right on all "persons". But Art.15(1) of the Constitution guarantees the specific right that the State shall not discriminate against any "citizen" only on the ground, inter alia of sex Art.15(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any dis