Sandhawalia, J.

1. Whether the petitioner Mrs. R. S. Singh has been discriminated against on the ground of sex alone, is the solitary question that has been raised for determination in this civil writ petition, which is before us, on a reference.

2. Though the facts have been marshalled with lucidity in the referring order of the learned Single Judge, it has however become necessary to restate them with particular relevance to the only issue that has been agitated before us. The petitioner was appointed as the Deputy Superintendent, Womens Jail, Lahore (now in West Pakistan) in the year 1941 and was confirmed in that post with effect from July 12, 1943. On January 1, 1947, she was shown at No. 2 in the order of seniority in the cadre of Deputy Superintendents (Class I). In the wake of the partition, the petitioner opted for service in East Punjab and on migration to India she was appointed as the Superintendent, Reformatory School, Delhi on March 4, 1948. The said school was later shifted to Hissar. It was on April 12, 1949, that the Governor of East Punjab made the impugned order (Annexure F) in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 275(b) of the Government of India