SC rules armed forces' framework disadvantages women, orders pension

The Supreme Court ruled that the evaluation system for women officers in the Indian armed forces is structurally biased. It granted pensionary benefits to released Army officers and Permanent Commission to others, citing flawed and unfair evaluations.

The Supreme Court has, in a landmark judgment, ruled that the systemic framework across the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, in terms of career progression and growth, disadvantaged women officers as they were denied a fair chance at Permanent Commission (PC), which ensures better in-service and pensionary benefits.

Pension and PC for Army Officers

A bench led by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ruled that women Army officers released from service (during the litigation of this case) will be deemed to have completed 20 years of qualifying service and will receive full pension with arrears from January 1, 2025, while directing grant of Permanent Commission (PC) to those still in service who met the 60% cut-off, subject to clearances.

Rulings for Navy and Air Force

In the Navy, it protected officers already granted PC and extended eligibility for PC to specified categories of women and even certain male officers who were earlier excluded. In the Air Force, it recognised flaws in evaluation and granted pensionary benefits as a one-time measure to those who were considered but not selected, while allowing others to pursue remedies. In the Air Force, the Court further held that performance benchmarks were implemented hastily, vitiating the selection process, while in the Navy, it found a lack of transparency in evaluation criteria and vacancy disclosures.

Evaluation System Found Structurally Biased

The Court based its ruling on the finding that the entire evaluation system was structurally biased. It noted that Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) were written on the assumption that women would not have long-term careers, leading to casual or unfair grading. It also found that women were denied "criteria appointments" and "career enhancement courses" because they were earlier ineligible for PC, which directly lowered their merit when they later became eligible. (ANI)

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