List steps for promotion of 34 women Army officers, govt told

New Delhi, December 5

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre about steps it proposed to take regarding the alleged delay in promotion of 34 women Army officers even after granting permanent commission on the court’s orders in 2020.

Senior advocate R Balasubramanian, representing the Centre, assured a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that no male officer had been promoted since the last hearing on November 22. “It is my word. No individual has been promoted after I made the statement on the last date of hearing,” the senior advocate said.

Rape-murder: Kin seek review of acquittals

• Almost a month after the SC acquitted three men who had been awarded death penalty for the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Delhi’s Chhawla area in 2012, the victim’s parents have sought a review of the verdict.
• “The prosecution has to bring home the charges levelled against them beyond reasonable doubt, which the prosecution has failed to do,” a three-judge Bench led by the then CJI UU Lalit had said in its November 7 verdict.
• The victim’s parents contended that many crucial facts were not brought to notice of the Supreme Court and certain facts were incorrectly interpreted while allowing the convicts’ appeals.

“We will hear it on Friday… We will ensure that justice is done,” the Bench said, adding, “We want you to tell us as to what you are going to do to the pleas by women officers.” The Bench will take up the matter on December 9.

Questioning the Army over holding Special Selection Boards only to promote male officers’ and not their women counterparts, the Supreme Court had on November 22 asked the Centre to respond to a petition by the women officers seeking promotions.

The women officers said despite the Supreme Court’s directive in the Babita Punia case in February 2020, the promotions of women officers had not been given effect to.

On behalf of the female officers, including Col (TS) Priyamvada A Mardikar and Col (TS) Asha Kale, senior counsel Mohana said that after the top court’s March 25, 2021, verdict the Army had said a special selection board would be held and women officers with seniority between 1992 and 2007 would be considered for promotion to the rank of Colonel. She said nothing had happened till date even though the Army held two such boards to promote male officers. The women officers said it was completely unjustified, unsustainable, illegal, unreasonable, arbitrary and a matter of great humiliation to the senior women officers that respondents had been promoting junior male officers to the Colonel rank, while withholding the promotion of women counterparts.