IAF starts process to accord permanent commission to women

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) After winning a three-year-long
court battle, women officers of the Air Force will now be
accorded permanent commission for which an exercise has been
initiated by the IAF.
"Yes, we have already started the process for according
permanent commission to women officers in accordance with the
Delhi High Court orders," a senior IAF officer told PTI here.
The court orders came in March this year on a petition
from 22 IAF and another 30-odd Army women officers, who
accused the government of discriminating against them
vis-a-vis their male counterparts.
"All the 22 women officers, who had gone to the court,
will be given permanent commission," the senior IAF officer
said.
IAF sources said the force had already issued offer
letters to these women officers asking if they would be
interested in a permanent commission.
With this offer, women officers would get an opportunity
to rise up to the rank of Lieutenant General and retire at the
age of 60 along with retirement and other benefits, similar to
the IAF men.
Sources said the IAF decision on the High Court order
came after India's Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam had
advised against an appeal and asked the IAF to go by the court
directive.
However, the Army's position on the court orders is still
not clear, as they "are still studying the orders" and
preparing their response, according to officers in the Army
headquarters here.
In their landmark judgement favouring women serving in
the defence forces, including those who had retired while the
plea was being heard, the division bench of Justices S K Kaul
and M P Garg had directed the government to grant permanent
commission to them, saying they "deserve better from the
government."
However, the court had disallowed the women officer's
plea to be allowed in combat roles in the armed forces.
"There are also male officers performing the same task.
If the male officers can be granted permanent commission
while performing those tasks, there is no reason why equally
capable women officers cannot be granted Permanent Commission.
It is not a charity being sought by the women officers but
enforcement of their own Constitutional rights," the court had
said.
It rejected the plea of the government that Permanent
Commission be allowed only for future recruits, a decision
taken by the government in 2009, as the benefit could not be
accorded retrospectively for serving and retired lady officers
who had approached the court. (MORE) PTI