Why it is in the news
On 17 September 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi, in Sumitra v. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (SLP (C) No. 19874 of 2026), held that the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had discriminated on the ground of sex when it refused, in 1988, to appoint Sumitra as a casual khalasi (helper) at its LPG bottling plant in village Guda, Karnal (Haryana), and awarded her ₹12 lakh in compensation in lieu of appointment.
The exam angle
Issue: Constitutional guarantees against sex discrimination in public employment have existed since 1950, yet a public-sector employer could exclude an eligible woman for being a woman and defend that decision for 36 years. Why do formal equality guarantees fail at the point of recruitment, and what makes them enforceable?