Women officers asked to apply for PC by August 31

The Supreme Court in February ruled that women should be considered for command roles and that all women officers are entitled to PC. It asked the army to give them PC within three months in a major boost to gender parity.

The army on Tuesday set August 31 as the deadline for short-service commissioned (SSC) women officers to submit their applications for permanent commission (PC), days after the government issued a formal order granting them PC following a Supreme Court verdict.

All women contingent of Indian Army during the rehearsal for the Republic Day parade at Rajpath in New Delhi. (PTI)

“Detailed administrative instructions have been issued to all affected women officers giving out guidelines for submission of applications for consideration by a selection board,” an army spokesperson said. He said the Army headquarters was in the process of convening a special selection board for screening women officers for PC.

“Specimen formats and detailed checklists have been included in the administrative instructions in order to facilitate correct documentation,” he added.

The government’s July 23 order specified grant of PC to women officers in 10 streams --- Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), and Intelligence Corps in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC).

The Supreme Court in February ruled that women should be considered for command roles and that all women officers are entitled to PC. It asked the army to give them PC within three months in a major boost to gender parity.

The Centre got a one-month extension on July 7 to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict after it moved an application before the apex court seeking the extension of the deadline by another six months citing the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed to check its spread from March 25.

The Supreme Court’s judgment was hailed for creating a new equality paradigm in the armed forces. It upheld a 2010 Delhi high court verdict. The Supreme Court ruled that women officers, who joined the Indian Army through SSC, are entitled to permanent commission even if they have more than 14 years of service.