Supreme Court Finds Indian Army’s Handling of Women Officers’ Promotion Arbitrary and Contrary to Previous Court Rulings

On November 3, the Indian Supreme Court strongly rebuked the Indian Army for its perceived arbitrary stance regarding the promotion of women officers who had been granted permanent commission in accordance with prior court judgments. The Court expressed its disapproval of the Army’s approach, noting that it fell short of providing justice due to women officers who had persevered in their struggle to attain the same entitlements as their male counterparts.

The bench, composed of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, was addressing applications submitted by female army officers seeking the enforcement of the court’s ruling in the case of Lt. Col. Nitisha v. Union of India. In that case, a bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud (at the time, in March 2021) acknowledged that the criteria for granting permanent commissions to women officers, while ostensibly impartial, had the effect of indirect discrimination.

These grievances were raised by female officers of the Indian Army, all of whom had received permanent commission in accordance with the Nitisha decision. The matter at hand pertained to their exclusion from the selection for promotion to the rank of Colonel. According to the promotion policy, Confidential Reports (CRs) were to be a crucial consideration by the selection boards. The framework in question emphasized the importance of CRs, assigning them 89 out of 100 marks in the promotion process.