Prove no bias against women,Army told

The Army,on the first day of its appeal in the Supreme Court,has been ordered to produce proof that denial of permanent commission to its women officers is not an act of discrimination....

The Army,on the first day of its appeal in the Supreme Court,has been ordered to produce proof that denial of permanent commission to its women officers is not an act of discrimination. Fighting against the non-grant of permanent commission to women officers after the Air Force complied with the Delhi High Court judgment of March 12,the Supreme Court on Monday gave the Army time till next Monday to produce on record a Central government notification which bars women from serving on a permanent basis.

The High Court had even sought an explanation from the Army chief and the Defence Ministry for not complying with its direction.

Why discrimination is shown to women? a Bench of Justices J M Panchal and Gyan Sudha Misra kicked off the court session with a point-blank question directed at Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Parag Tripathi,appearing for the Army.

The ASG countered that the ground situation in the Army is different from that of the Air Force. While there is room for extending the service of women serving short service commission in the Air Force as per their suitability,the Armys service policy does not offer such flexibility to its women officers once their contract expires after 10 years,Tripathi said. The ASG argued that as per Rule 15 of the Army Instructions notified on August 1,1996,women officers are barred from other branches in the Army except Judge Advocate General and education departments.

It is a policy decision to not grant women permanent commission. It is inappropriate to have women in certain areas. The service conditions in Air Force and Army are slightly different. The High Court glosses over my notification. Whether it is right or wrong,my policy has to be dealt with first, Tripathi argued.

Countering the ASG,Justice Misra observed: This is discrimination. Can you say that this discrimination cannot be challenged because of some policy?

Policy is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution (right to equality), Justice Panchal said.

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But ASG defended that the notification was a statutory direction as per the power given to the Central government. The question of whether women officers are entitled to permanent commission is to be decided after considering the scheme of the Constitution and the Army Act. This is a scheme which has an impact on the entire discipline of the Army. If they (women) fall into enemy hands as prisoner of war… the ASG said.