Army’s approach of denying women officers empanelment as colonel arbitrary: SC

Keywords: arbitrary, promotion, special selection board, confidential reports

The court was considering petitions from female officers who said that, despite the Nitisha ruling’s mandate that their complete profile be taken into account, a significant amount of their Confidential Records had been disregarded, ostensibly due to their gender parity.

The Supreme Court took Issue on Friday with the way the Army authorities evaluated the Confidential Records of female officers for their empanelment as colonels, and ordered a new exercise to be conducted in two weeks.

With regard to the promotion of female officers who were granted permanent commission as a result of the March 25, 2021, Supreme Court ruling in Lieutenant Colonel Nitisha’s case and subsequent orders, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud expressed its dissatisfaction.

The court was considering petitions from female officers who said that, despite the Nitisha ruling’s mandate that their complete profile be taken into account, a significant amount of their Confidential Records had been disregarded, ostensibly due to their gender parity.

The SC stated, “We believe that the way the cut-off has been applied to calculate the CRs for female officers for empanelment as colonels is arbitrary, as it goes against the Indian Army’s policy framework and the principles outlined in Nitisha.”  . while Senior Advocate Col. R Balasubramanium and Attorney General R Venkataramani attempted to defend the procedure. 

In 2021, the Supreme Court declared that the standards of evaluation established by the Army for women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers who were to be granted permanent commissions (PC) constituted systemic discrimination, resulting in economic and psychological harm as well as an insult to their dignity. The highest court stated that it was evident from the policy framework that all Confidential Reports (CR) submitted after nine years of service had to be taken into account. It claimed that in this instance, a cut-off was arbitrarily applied to put the female officers on par with their male counterparts.

The highest court ordered the permanent commissioning of female officers in the Army in February 2020. The Center’s argument that their “physiological limitations” are the result of “sex stereotypes” and “gender discrimination against women” was rejected.

“It is noteworthy that the court noted in its order dated November 21, 2022, the army authorities’ declaration that 150 positions were to be filled in accordance with our ruling,” the SC continued.” the SC added. 108 positions are now filled. The Special Selection Board (SSB) was instructed to reconvene within a fortnight to consider their empanelment, stating that the reason that there were no vacancies would therefore no longer be an available defense.

References:

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/armys-approach-to-promotion-of-women-officers-arbitrary-supreme-court-241574 last visited: 06/11/23

Anushka Shukla, Faculty of Law, University of Lucknow, Intern at Legal Vidhiya

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