Navy to induct women cadets from NDA: Centre to Supreme Court

New Delhi, March 8

The Indian Navy has decided to induct women cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

No urgent hearing on VVPAT verification

Ahead of the results of the Assembly elections to five states, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to urgently take up a PIL seeking verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) before March 10, when the votes will be counted. TNS

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul that the Navy had decided to induct women through the NDA — education, logistics and Naval Armament Inspectorate. She said the Centre had filed an affidavit in this regard.

“Your Lordships kept the matter for International Women’s Day, Milords. Some people say it’s symbolism, but I think it’s necessary,” Bhati said.

She said the Navy didn’t have direct induction of women or men through the NDA. However, in view of the court’s direction to give Permanent Commission to women officers they were allowed entry and now the Navy has decided to induct cadets from the NDA in three branches.

“The induction of women cadets in NDA has been a major policy decision. The respondents need sufficient time for deliberating implications in the long term for induction and deployment of ex-NDA women cadets in the Indian Armed Forces. It is, therefore, submitted that the respondents require at least three months’ additional time towards this,” read the Centre’s affidavit.

The intake of women in the NDA will depend upon the induction of women in the armed forces, it added.

The Bench recorded that it was the first instance that a male or female cadet would be trained at the NDA for direct induction as PC officers in the three branches, as at present no PC male officer is directly inducted to these branches to the NDA.

The Bench refused to deal with the issue of reservation of seats for SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes in the NDA, saying, “Social revolution does not come overnight and takes time.”

The top court said that for the time being, it would only go into the issue of admissions of women in these education institutions which had been only for boys all along. It listed the matter for further hearing on July 19.