Promotion of women officers: SC questions Army over 'bias'

New Delhi, November 22

Questioning the Army over holding Special Selection Boards only for male officers’ promotion and not for their women counterparts, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a petition by 34 Army women officers seeking promotions to higher ranks.

The 34 women Army officers submitted that despite the Supreme Court’s direction in the historic Babita Punia case in February 2020, the promotions of women officers had not been given effect to.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday asked the Centre and the Army to the plea of 34 permanent commissioned women officers and posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

On behalf of the women officers, including Col (TS) Priyamvada A Mardikar and Col (TS) Asha Kale, senior counsel Mohana said after the top court’s March 25, 2021 verdict, the Army had said a special selection board will be held and women officers having seniority between 1992 and 2007 will be considered for promotion to the rank of Colonel.

Nothing has happened till date even though the Army held two such boards to promote male officers, Mohana pointed out.

On behalf of the Centre, senior counsel R Balasubramanian assured the Bench that nothing prejudicial to women officers would be done.

The woman officers submitted that it was completely unjustified, unsustainable, illegal, unreasonable, arbitrary and a matter of great humiliation and insult to senior women officers that respondents have been promoting junior gentleman officers to Colonel rank, while withholding the promotion of women officers.