The central government on Thursday issued a formal sanction letter for grant of Permanent Commission to women officers in Indian Army, over five months after being ordered by the Supreme Court.
The order specifies grant of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) women officers in all ten streams of Indian Army in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC), an Army spokesperson said.
The order will pave the way to empower women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organisation, the spokesperson added. "Their selection board will be scheduled as soon as all affected SSC women officers exercise their option and complete requisite documentation," he said.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of India had granted one more month to the Centre to implement its verdict directing that permanent commission be given to all serving SSC women officers in the Army.
The court had on February 17 ordered the Centre to grant permanent commission respecting a 2010 order of the Delhi High Court in this regard and had also ruled that women officers can get “command and criteria” appointments in the Army on par with their male counterparts.
The recruitment of women in the Armed Forces is an “evolutionary process”, the court had said, and added that the policy decisions of the Centre regarding the employment of women officers were “very unique”.
The order castigated the government for submitting a note portraying women as physiologically unfit for answering the “call beyond duty” of the Army. It said that the Centre’s note perpetuated sex stereotypes.
“Arguments by the Centre founded on physical strength of men and women and grounds of motherhood, family etc violates equality,” the judgement said. “To cast aspersions on ability of women and their role and achievements in Army is an insult not only to women but also to Indian Army.”
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