Because the company considered the work of carrying gas cylinders unsuitable for women, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to pay ₹ 12 lakh in compensation to a Haryana woman who was denied a helper’s job at an LPG bottling plant in 1988.
It was this order that Sumitra challenged in the top court. The court noted the long litigation that the woman had to endure, in addition to the discrimination at the hands of IOC. The petition, filed through advocate Surya Nath Pandey, stated that gender was the only ground for denying her employment.
As the woman had attained the age of 63, well beyond the age of superannuation, the court noted that she had litigated for decades and directed IOC to pay a lump sum of ₹ 12 lakh in compensation. Sumitra had first approached the trial court, where she won a decree in 1990 directing IOC to absorb her in any post other than that of a labourer. This judgment was challenged by the IOC before the Punjab & Haryana high court, which overturned the decision in October 2025.
The IOC, in its response before the top court, said, “As the nature of the job and atmosphere and odd working hours in the company of the males was such that petitioner being lady was not considered fit for the job.
At one point during the hearing, the IOC lawyer was even willing to agree to mediation. However, the court was not interested in keeping the matter pending after going through the facts of the case and noting the considerable delay of over three decades since the litigation began.
