The Bombay High Court stated that it considered the practice of various municipal corporations applying different height requirements for female candidates seeking positions in the fire brigade to be discriminatory.

A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain, on October 26, emphasized that having varying standards for different corporations is not permissible. They also stressed that women candidates should not face discrimination due to arbitrary policies or approvals by the state government, particularly when they are in similar situations.

The High Court was considering a petition filed by four women who had taken part in the selection process for the position of a fire extinguisher, and this petition was directed against the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which was responsible for conducting the tests. The women were represented by Advocate AS Rao, who explained that the petitioners were informed that they did not meet the height requirements set by the PMC, which stipulated that women candidates must have a minimum height of 162 cm.

Rao also highlighted that the Maharashtra Fire Brigade Service Administration had officially set the minimum height requirement for women candidates at 157 cm. However, certain municipal bodies in Pune, Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur were insisting on a height requirement of 162 cm for women aspirants, while various other civic bodies in the state were adhering to the 157 cm standard. 

The bench observed that the petitioners had, at first glance, presented a case of "clear and obvious discrimination." In its temporary order, the High Court instructed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to allow the petitioners to take part in the selection process and ruled that they should not be disqualified based on height requirements. It was clarified that the final selection of the petitioners would be contingent on the eventual decision of the petition, and the High Court requested the PMC to submit its response, scheduling the hearing for November 9.