Plea for permanent commission: Nation proud of SSC women IAF officers, says SC

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) The nation is proud of Short Service Commission (SSC) women Air Force officers irrespective of their specific roles in the armed forces, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while hearing final arguments against denial of permanent commission to some of them.

A bench comprising Chief Justices Surya Kant and justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh made the observations while hearing the submissions of senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy, representing Wg Cdr Sucheta Edn and others, who claimed discrimination for being denied the permanent commission (PC).

"In a system, every duty is a responsible duty whether it is a ground duty or a duty in air... the country is proud of your services. We are proud of your services," the CJI said when a SSC woman officer argued herself to give account of her job profile in the Air Force.

Guruswamy referred to the 2019 HR (human resources) policy of the armed forces and assailed it by saying that the criteria for being considered for the PC were changed and this violated Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.

Referring to specific cases of some SSC officers, the senior lawyer said they had the requisite CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) and yet they were not considered because their cases were not categories as they were pregnant and on maternity leave.

She referred to various judgements and said that it has been held that women staff cannot be discriminated against on account of pregnancy and maternity leaves.

The bench will resume final hearing in the case on December 9.

On May 22, the top court had directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force not to release from service a woman officer, who was part of Operation Balakot and Operation Sindoor but was denied permanent commission.

It had sought responses from the Centre and the IAF on the plea of Wing Commander Nikita Pandey who claimed discrimination for being denied permanent commission.

"Our Air Force is one of the best organisations in the world. Officers are very commendable. The quality of coordination they have exhibited, I think it's unparalleled. Therefore, we always salute them. They are a big asset for the nation. They are the nation, in a way. Because of them, we are able to sleep at night," Justice Kant had said.

The bench noted a "tough life" for SSC officers began following their recruitment, which called for some incentive after 10 or 15 years to grant them permanent commission.

"That sense of uncertainty may not be good for the Armed Forces. It's a layman's suggestion, because we are not experts. On minimum benchmarks, there can't be a compromise," Justice Kant had said.

Since the 2020 verdict, the top court has passed several orders on the issue of permanent commission to women officers in the Armed Forces and similar orders were passed in the case of the Navy, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.

A permanent commission in the armed forces is a career path that allows an officer to serve until the retirement age.

Unlike a SSC, which has a fixed term, a PC offers a long-term career with opportunities for promotion to the highest ranks and full entitlement to pensions and other retirement benefits. PTI SJK ZMN