Denying Women Officers Empanelment as Colonels Deemed ‘Arbitrary’ by SC
The Supreme Court deemed the Army’s practice of refusing women officers empanelment as colonels “arbitrary,” noting that it is contrary to the policy circular of the Army and the court’s judgement. As a directive, the court has instructed the authorities to reconvene the special selection board within two weeks to promote these women officers.
The highest court highlighted that the established policy framework explicitly necessitated considering all Confidential Reports (CR) after nine years of service. In the present case, a cut-off was imposed arbitrarily to equate the female officers with their male counterparts. Furthermore, the top court dismissed the argument, claiming an insufficient number of vacancies to accommodate the officers.
