The SHC has highlighted the interest of upholding marital unity by making sure that married women employees are stationed together with their husbands. This order is in pursuant to a petition by a female teacher who challenged the right of the Sindh Education Department to cancel her transfer to Hyderabad on the ground that it was a contravention of the government policy on wedlock.
The teacher who had been serving in Naushero Feroz, when her husband went to Hyderabad, had been transferred under the wedlock policy. The department however cancelled it in another notification. The argument was that the reversal was inconsistent with policy, which avails of right to post married couples in the same city.
The division bench led by Justice Mohammad Saleem Jessar said Article 35 of the Constitution shows that the state is supposed to uphold family life. The court ruled that it is unreasonable to deprive a married woman of her marriage without any real reason since this is tantamount to punishment without crime.
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The bench pointed out to the Sindh School Education Department 2021 recruitment notice that did not have anything to do with the transfers under the wedlock policy. It was improper to use the recruitment notification to supersede the transfer because it was ruled out by the court. It has highlighted that family welfare should be a concern of the executive authorities when deciding on transfers since hasty separation creates risks of psychological and financial stress to the family.
By accepting the petition, the Sindh High Court has reinstated the posting of the teacher in Hyderabad, nullifying her transfer to Naushero Feroz. The court directed her reinstatement under the District Education Officer (Primary), Hyderabad, along with giving her biometric ID therefore, balancing her personal and professional life simultaneously.
