Supreme Court allows women to take NDA exam, rebukes Army for gender discrimination

The order was passed by a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy, who were hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the Centre’s policy of not permitting female candidates to appear for the NDA and Naval Academy Examination.

The apex court clarified that the results of the examination will be subject to the final judgement in the petition. It also directed the UPSC to issue a corrigendum notification and “give due publicity so that intent of the order is translated into effect”.

The bench stated that that Army’s policy decision “is based on gender discrimination,” responding to Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati’s contention that of the three modes of entry into the army, women were allowed through two — Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA). This is due to policy decisions and seeing that “it’s ultimately, a matter of national security,” she said.

Senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for the petitioner, too, stated that the Union government had filed a counter-affidavit stating that the barring of women from the exam is “purely a policy decision and should not be interfered with by the court and that because girls are not allowed to enter into NDA does not mean there is any difficulty in their progression or in their career.”

The bench rebuked the Army for not changing its “mindset”, even during the permanent commission judgement.

Justice Kaul noted that the Army “doesn’t believe in doing anything voluntarily” till judicial intervention is sought. He was referring to a recent ruling by Justice Chandrachud, which held up the direction that the government should ensure that women short service officers are given permanent commission in the Army, including command postings.

“You must begin with some tokenism. Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time! We, as an institution, must confess that we may not understand all intricate, technical aspects of your structure, you are better situated to appreciate that. But the broad principle of gender neutrality you must understand and adapt it in the backdrop of your peculiarities. Us passing blanket orders does not advance the cause,” Justice Kaul stated.

— With inputs from Live Law