557 women officers granted Permanent Commission in Army

New Delhi: The Government on Monday informed Parliament 557 Women Officers were granted Permanent Commission in the Indian Army after the Supreme Court judgment on February 17 last year. 

No delay has been made in granting Permanent Commission to any Women Officer, the government said.

Giving details in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for defence Ajay Bhatt said 63 eligible Women Officers have been granted Permanent Commission as on November 25 this year in compliance of the judgment of the apex court.  The minister gave this information in a written reply to MP M Shanmugam.

The Supreme Court last year had directed the Centre to grant permanent commission to women officers in the Army. Rejecting the Centre's stand on “physiological limitations”, the court said it was based on “sex stereotypes” and “gender discrimination against women”.

The court also directed that



all serving Short Service Commission(SSC) women officers be considered for permanent commission within three months, irrespective of them having crossed 14 years or, as the case may be, 20 years of service.

On November 12, hearing a plea filed by 11 women army officers, the court issued a warning to the Centre saying it was going to initiate contempt proceedings against the Indian Army for failing to grant permanent commission to the said women officers, in line with its previous orders.

Soon after, the Centre assured the court of rolling out the permanent commission option for all eligible Women Short Service Commission Officers (WSSCO) in the Army.

The Centre also assured the bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, of a swift decision within ten days with regard to the 11 women officers, who have approached the top court, to grant permanent commission.