'Not Enough To Proudly Say Women Are Allowed To Serve Army When Their Service Conditions Tell A Different Story' : Supreme Court In Permanent Commission Case

Expressing anguish at the Indian Army's failure to implement the judgment allowing Permanent Commission for women officers, the Supreme Court said -"It is not enough to proudly state that women officers are allowed to serve the nation in the Armed Forces, when the true picture of their service conditions tells a different story".The judgment authored by Justice DY. Expressing anguish at the Indian Army's failure to implement the judgment allowing Permanent Commission for women officers, the Supreme Court said - "It is not enough to proudly state that women officers are allowed to serve the nation in the Armed Forces, when the true picture of their service conditions tells a different story". "The lack of consideration given to the recent performance of WSSCOs for grant of PC is a disservice not just to these officers who have served the nation, but also to the Indian Army, which on one hand salutes these officers by awarding them honours and decorations, and on the other hand, fails to assess the true value of these honours when it matters the most - at the time of standing for the cause of the WSSCOs to realise their rights under the Constitution and be treated on an equal footing as male officers who are granted PC" Some of the finest women officers excluded The Supreme Court noted with dismay that the decision of the Army to not take into account the qualifications of women Short Service Commission officers beyond their 5th or 10th year of services resulted in the exclusion of "some of the finest women officers who have served the Army". "Serious hardship has been caused to the women officers by the Army by not considering their application for PC at the relevant time", the Court said.