In Brief
Richa Mishra, a woman government servant, qualified for appointment as Deputy Superintendent of Police but was denied the position on grounds of age bar under the 2000 recruitment rules, which did not provide age relaxation for women. The Supreme Court held that Richa was entitled to age relaxation under the 1997 Women's Special Provisions Rules, which applied to all government service appointments. Applying purposive interpretation—the principle that laws must be read to achieve their intended purpose—the Court held that the 1997 rules' omission from the 2000 recruitment rules was accidental, not intentional. The Court ordered her appointment with seniority backdated to when junior male candidates on the merit list were appointed, advancing constitutional objectives of women's empowerment.
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