Married daughter remains a daughter’: Karnataka HC quashes discriminatory defence welfare rule

Karnataka High Court, while quashing the gender-biased Sainik Welfare Board guideline that prevented married daughters from availing dependent cards available for the children of ex-defence personnel, mentioned that a married daughter remains a daughter in the same way in which a married son remains a son. A single judge bench of the High Court ruled the order on January 2 and said, "If the son remains a son, married or unmarried; a daughter shall remain a daughter, married or unmarried. If the act of marriage does not change the son's status, the act of marriage cannot and shall not change the status of a daughter," The Indian  Express reported.

High Court has also asked the central government to prevent referring former defence personnel as ex-servicemen because of changing gender norms in the services. The court has asked the government to consider gender-neutral nomenclature, 'ex-service personnel.'The single judge bench of Karnataka High Court comprising of Justice M Nagaprasanna announced the judgment while hearing a plea moved down by a 31-year-old daughter of former army personnel, Subedar Ramesh Khandappa Patil who lost his life while clearing the mines in 2001- Operation Parakram.The petitioner, Priyanka Patil, who lost her father when she was ten years old, approached the Karnataka High Court in 2021 after she faced a refusal from the Sainik Welfare Board to issue a dependent card to her because she was married.

She is also seeking to be identified as the child of ex-service personnel to avail of 10 per cent reservations made by the state government for the kin of former defence personnel. After hearing her petition on January 2, the court's judgment tends to remove the prevalent gender stereotypes in the administration.