Permanent fee: women Army officers move Supreme Court

Women Army officers on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court to debunk the defence institution’s announcement that 422 of 615 women officers screened have been discovered “fit” for a everlasting fee. They stated the announcement was extra optics than substance.

In reality, they stated, solely lower than 50% of the women officers have been really granted everlasting fee (PC). They said that the precise variety of women officers “granted” PC would come to about 277 – lower than half of 615 – women officers unfold throughout 31 batches in 10 Arms/Services of the Army.

Compared to this quantity, 90% male officers have been cleared for PC within the Army.

‘Announcement more optics than substance’

“The exercise for grant of PC has been carried out more in optics, than in substance, rendering itself to be yet another instance of lip-service, adding to the long unfortunate chain of symbolic and pyrrhic victories. Denying PC to scores of extremely meritorious and outstanding women officers based on unknown, undisclosed and surreptitious parameters, deviating from the settled norms as applied to gentlemen officers while granting them PC, smacks of gross arbitrariness”, the women officers, represented by advocates Chitrangda Rastravara and Archana Pathak Dave, submitted in an pressing software.

It stated the quantity ‘422’ being projected was “highly fallacious and misleading”.

It claimed that the Army had cobbled up the determine of 422 by together with 57 women officers who’ve opted out of PC although match; one other 42 who’re within the non permanent lowmedical classes; and people whose outcomes have been withheld both because of non-receipt of the requisite medical paperwork or on administrative grounds.

“Hence, the figure 422 is reached after taking into account several categories and it clearly reflects that the Army has not granted PC to even 50% of the total number of women officers distributed across 31 batches”, the appliance submitted.

The outcomes of the Permanent Commission Board was introduced on November 19.

However, the appliance filed by a number of women officers led by Lt. Col. Ashu Yadav stated the Army set out arbitrary medical thresholds for them in the course of the screening course of for PC.

These, they stated, had been standards aimed to “eliminate women officers on arbitrary grounds”.

The Supreme Court, in a judgment on February 17, upheld a 2010 Delhi High Court judgment to grant PC for women Army officers.

The apex court docket verdict had dismissed views that women had been physiologically weaker than males as a “sex stereotype”.

“Women officers of the Indian Army have brought laurels to the force… Their track record of service to the nation is beyond reproach”, the it noticed within the judgment.