In A First, 422 Women Officers Selected For Permanent Commission By Indian Army
A total of 422 women officers have been found qualified to receive a permanent commission (PC) in the Indian Army.
According to the declassified results of a special selection board released by the Army on Thursday, 57 women officers who were found fit for permanent commission have opted not to take it. Sixty-eight women officers who have not been granted permanent commission will now be released from service with a pension.
106 officers who have not been recommended for permanent commission will be allowed to serve till 20 years of service to earn a pension and then released from service.
The 'Special No 5 Selection Board' constituted to screen short-service commission (SSC) women officers in September, after the Supreme Court, in February, had granted permanent commission to women officers in the Army irrespective of their number of years of service.?
Following the SC order, in July the Centre has issued a formal sanction government letter for grant of Permanent Commission to women officers in the force which specifies grant of PC to Short Service Commission women officers in ten streams.
Permanent Commission to SSC women officers in all ten streams of Indian Army??
The grant of Permanent Commission to SSC women officers in all ten streams of Indian Army which includes: air defence, signals, engineers, army aviation, electronics and mechanical engineers, army service corps and intelligence corps. This is in addition to the existing streams of judge and advocate general and army educational corps.
With permanent commission being granted to women officers in these branches, they would now be eligible for promotion to higher ranks.?
In a similar case last month, the SC had extended till December 31 the deadline for implementation of its judgement on grant of permanent commission (PC) to women SSC officers in the Indian Navy.
Progressive move
The top court had on March 17, maintaining that women and men officers should be treated equally, cleared PC for women in the Navy and asked the Centre to complete the modalities within three months.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee said that it is extending time till December 31 for grant of PC to Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers in the Indian Navy.
The Centre moved the application in June for extending the deadline by six months citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bench also asked the Centre to provide Rs 25 lakh compensation each in four weeks to five Naval women officers, who were not considered for the PC besides the pensionary benefits, which had already been given to them.
