Indian Army Begins Process To Grant Permanent Commission To Women Officers; Calls For Applications By 31 August

Following the Government's recent sanction for the grant of permanent commissioning to women officers of the Indian Army, the force has kickstarted the process for the grant of same to the eligible officers, reports Economic Times.

This comes just two weeks after Union Ministry of Defence had approved the historic proposal. The Army headquarters has invited applications for permanent commissioning by 31 August.

Women officers who have been recruited by the Indian Army under Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES) and Short Service Commission (SSC) are eligible to apply and benefit under the new regime.

Permanent commissioning of women officers has been made available in ten streams, which include army air defence, signals, engineers, army aviation, electronics and mechanical engineers, army service corps and intelligence corps.

This comes as a major boost as hitherto, the Army offered permanent commissioning to women officers in two branches, judge advocate general (JAG) and education.

It was after the Supreme Court ordered the Indian Army in February this year to grant permanent commission to women officers within three months, that the Army started the process to give serving women officers a bigger role.

The apex court had observed that the blanket non consideration of women for criteria or command appointments, absent an individuated justification, by the Army cannot be sustained in law. Also, the absolute bar on women seeking criteria or command appointments would not comport with the guarantee of equality under Article 14.

This verdict had come 14 years after 11 women officers initiated the litigation in the Delhi High Court.