Women Army Officers To Be Given Equal Regular Postings From April 2024; New Policy In The Works: Centre Informs Supreme Court

The issue addressed by the petitioners was the unfair postings to major regular units of male officers in permanent commission as compared to their female counterparts. Senior Advocate V Mohana appearing on behalf of the women officers submitted the concern of the disproportionate grant of regular units in the male-to-female officers' ratio.

Senior Advocate V. Mohana expressed, “ Your lordships they are finding a way out how your judgement cannot be implemented, they are finding a way to circumvent…all 225 male officers are given the Colonel major regular units …why are they not adequately exercising the postings, I do not reach the next level at all. This is one way of seeing to it that I do not get the fruits of my success my lord…why are we being discriminated against? We are feeling humiliated, my juniors are now being appointed in the major units also, and my batch mates are already there”

The bench was informed that out of the 225 male officers empanelled on permanent commission, all of them were granted major regular units while in the case of women officers, of the 108 empanelled women in the permanent commission, only 32 have been given regular controlling units.

Senior Advocate Mr R Balasubramaniam appearing on behalf of the Indian Armed Forces, emphasized a new policy framework is under the works and should be published by March-April 2024.

He further submitted, “ This is a completely misleading statement….pursuant to the Nitisha Judgement, the government has made a policy, they are in the process of publishing that. By March 2024, all the units, whether lieutenant command or colonel command … because of the number of units available in terms of the regular unit, what my learned Senior is trying to put across…say there are 100 units, the officers approved for promotion are two hundred, now if we have to retain these 200 officers in just 100 units, then perforce there is a criterion of command, minimum 18 months of tenure, how do we turn over them? That's why I am saying March 2024, all these officers are going to be turned over”

Mr Balasubramaniam emphasized that in view of the new policy which is underway, by March 2024 all officers and their unit postings will be rotated, thus there is no question of any discriminatory treatment being meted out to women officers.

Taking note of the same, the bench listed the matter for 1st week of April and asked the Union to furnish an updated status report on the said policy and steps taken so far.

The Petitioners however pressed for a stay on the practise of appointing a junior to the regular unit in the interim.

The CJI remarked verbally, “ Let's see what they are doing, we also have limitations, we are seized of the matter...the very fact that we are seized of the matter may have a sobering influence on the army ...we are not granting any stay”.

Last year, the Court had asked the Centre to frame a policy regarding the promotion of women army officers who have been granted permanent commission.

Background

The present applications seeking directions come in light of the Judgement rendered by the Supreme Court in Lt. Col Nitisha v. UOI, wherein the court declared that the evaluation criteria adopted by the Indian Army to consider the grant of permanent commission for women officers to be "arbitrary and irrational".

The judgment came in a batch of petitions filed by women officers challenging the rejection of their applications seeking permanent commission in Indian Army. They contended that the Army denied them permanent commission, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Babita Puniya case, by applying an arbitrary threshold for medical fitness and by not considering their credentials beyond the 5th or 10th year of services.

In 2020, the Apex Court directed that a Permanent Commission should be granted to women in the army regardless of their service, in all the ten streams where the Union Government have already taken a decision to grant a Short Service Commission to women. The Court also held that the absolute exclusion of women from command assignments is against Article 14 of the Constitution and unjustified. Therefore, the policy that women will be given only "staff appointments" was held to be unenforceable by the Court.

The Court had held that an absolute prohibition of women SSC officers from obtaining anything but staff appointments evidently does not fulfil the purpose of granting PCs as a means of career advancement in the Army. The blanket non-consideration of women for criteria or command appointments absent an individuated justification by the Army cannot be sustained in law.

Case Details: NITISHA vs. UNION OF INDIA THROUGH THE SECRETARY MINISTRY OF DEFENCE MA 000219 - / 2024