Gender bias alleged in Travancore Devaswom Board PRO interview process, approaches High Court

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A complaint has been registered that the woman who scored the highest marks in the written test for the appointment of Travancore Devaswom Board PRO was given less marks in the interview. Candidate A.B. Nitha approached the High Court.

Nitha asks why the Devaswom Recruitment Board did not specify in the notification if women are not considered. Candidates can check their answer sheet including PSC exam by paying.

The PRO is supposed to work full-time at Sabarimala. A Devaswom Board employee has also approached the High Court stating that appointing women would be a breach of custom. The candidate also says that there is a doubt about the intention of this. The case was filed only twelve days before the release of the rank list.

A.B. Nitha topped the written test with 70 marks out of 100. After the interview, the main list of six candidates was published. G S Arun, who had 67 marks in the exam, came first with seven marks in the interview. Nitha, who got three marks in the interview, stood second. Nitha was the only one who got three marks in the main list. The back rankers got 6, 4 and 5 marks. The Devaswom Recruitment Board denied the complaint of gender discrimination. The explanation is that performance in the interview was the only criterion.