Army granting permanent commission to women officers

(MainsGS3:Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.)

Context:

• The Army has begun the process for selection of women officers for command postings in the rank of Colonel, which has so far been the domain of male officers.

Upholding the judgement:

• This flows from the Supreme Court judgment in 2021 upholding an earlier judgement granting permanent commission as well as command postings to women officers in all arms and services other than combat.
• The Supreme Court held that the Army’s selective evaluation process discriminated against and disproportionately affected women officers seeking permanent commission.
• A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud observed that the pattern of evaluation inherently caused economic and psychological harm to short service commission women officers.
• Following judicial intervention, the Army granted Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers on a par with their male counterparts.

Meaning of command postings:

• Apart from medical and dental streams, since 2008 the Army has granted PC for women officers in the Education Corps and Judge Advocate General (JAG) branches where they already go to the rank of Colonel. 
• However, they are largely administrative appointments unlike the regular arms and services where Colonels command officers and men and lead them from the front. 
• A Commanding Officer (CO) is a very coveted position in the Army and therein lies its significance in it being opened up for women.

Judicial intervention:

• In the past, women were recruited in various arms and services only as short service commissions, which meant they would have to leave service after 14 years, much shorter than the pensionable service of 20 years. 
• In a landmark judgment in the Babita Puniya case in February 2020, the Supreme Court directed that women officers in the Army be granted PC as well as command postings in all services other than combat. 
• Further, on March 25, 2021 the Supreme Court in Lt. Col. Nitisha versus Union of India held that the Army’s selective evaluation process discriminated against and disproportionately affected women officers seeking PC. 
• With reduction in the age profile of COs over the years, an officer now becomes a Colonel after about 16-18 years of service.

way forward:

• All women officers who were granted PC are undergoing special training courses and assignments to empower them for higher leadership roles. 
• For the first time last year, five Women Officers (WOs) have cleared the Defence Services Staff Course and Defence Services Technical Staff Course Exam, which is held annually in the month of September. 
• The five WOs will undergo a one year course which will give them adequate weightage while being considered for command appointments. 
• These developments will allow women officers to assume challenging leadership roles, akin to their male counterparts, and also to go further up the rank structure. 
• Women are being inducted in the ranks of sailors by the Navy under the Agnipath scheme and will soon be deployed onboard warships while the Army has inducted women as soldiers in the Corps of Military Police.