The Supreme Court on Wednesday commenced hearings in a batch of over 75 petitions filed by women Army officers of the Short Service Commission (SSC), who have alleged discrimination in being denied permanent commissions (PC) despite a binding 2020 apex court ruling in their favour.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh heard arguments from both serving and retired officers, who contended that systemic bias against women continues to pervade decision-making in the armed forces.
Senior advocates Huzefa Ahmadi, Menaka Guruswamy, V Mohana and others, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, argued that the denial of permanent commission stemmed from unfair assessment practices, including the “casual grading” of annual confidential reports (ACRs) and denial of postings and opportunities available to male counterparts.
“There has been consistent discrimination in not granting permanent commission,” counsel for the officers said, urging the court to enforce transparency and accountability in evaluations. Guruswamy, appearing for Colonel Geeta Sharma, referred to the exemplary service of Colonel Sofia Qureshi, who was among the few women officers to brief the media on Operation Sindoor in May.
The bench, while hearing the grievances, indicated the need to evolve uniform guidelines for the grant of PC but also acknowledged that factors such as specialised training must be considered. “What, according to you, should be the basis for assessing permanent commission?” the bench asked the petitioners.
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The court clarified that following the Army cases, it would proceed to hear similar petitions filed by women officers in the Navy and the Air Force, many of whom have alleged denial of PC on similar grounds.
The hearing remained inconclusive and is set to resume on August 7. Interim orders previously passed--restraining the Union Government from releasing the women officers until the matter is resolved--will remain in force.
During an earlier hearing on May 9, the court had directed the Centre not to release from service any SSC woman officer who was challenging the denial of permanent commission. “Do not bring their morale down in the prevailing situation,” the bench had cautioned.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, submitted that the decisions were administrative in nature and aligned with a policy aimed at keeping the armed forces “young.”
The petitioners have placed strong reliance on the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement of February 17, 2020, which had ruled that blanket exclusion of women from command and other critical roles was “indefensible” and legally unsustainable. The court had then ordered the Army to grant permanent commissions to women officers and noted that merely offering them staff roles without career advancement opportunities rendered the commission meaningless.
Since that verdict, the top court has issued multiple directives to enforce gender parity in the Armed Forces, extending similar reliefs to officers in the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
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