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34. In Subramanian Swamy v. CBI, (2014) 8 SCC 682, a Constitution Bench of this Court struck down Section 6A of the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act on the ground that it made an invidious distinction between employees of the Central Government of the level of Joint Secretary and above as against other Government servants. This Court, after discussing various judgments dealing with the principle of discrimination (when a classification does not disclose an intelligible differentia in relation to the object sought to be achieved by the Act) from para 38 onwards, ultimately held that the aforesaid classification defeats the purpose of finding prima facie truth in the allegations of graft and corruption against public servants generally, which is the object for which the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was enacted. In paras 59 and 60 this Court held as follows:

36. A conspectus of these judgments also leads to the result that the microscopic difference between male and female, adult and non adult, regard being had to the object sought to be achieved by the 2005 Act, is neither real or substantial nor does it have any rational relation to the object of the legislation. In fact, as per the principle settled in the Subramanian Swamy judgment, the words “adult male person” are contrary to the object of affording protection to women who have suffered from domestic violence “of any kind”. We, therefore, strike down the words “adult male” before the word “person” in Section 2(q), as these words discriminate between persons similarly situate, and far from being in tune with, are contrary to the object sought to be achieved by the 2005 Act.