On Monday, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the Central Government and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) for denying permanent commission to its women officers. The court emphasised that the maritime force should formulate a policy that treats women officers “fairly.”
During the hearing of a plea filed by woman officer Priyanka Tyagi seeking permanent commission for eligible women short service commission officers in the ICG, the bench, consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed dissatisfaction.
“You speak of ‘nari shakti’ (woman power). Now show it here. You are in the deep end of the sea in this matter. You must come up with a policy which treats women fairly,” remarked the bench.
The bench questioned whether the Union was still maintaining a “patriarchal approach” despite previous Supreme Court judgments on granting permanent commissions to women officers in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.
“Why are you being so patriarchal? You do not want to see the face of women in the Coast Guard?” the bench asked Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, representing the ICG.
Noting that the petitioner was the only Short Service Commission (SSC) woman officer seeking permanent commission, the bench inquired why her case was not considered. It directed the Coast Guard to formulate a policy in this regard.
The bench instructed the law officer to review the judgments that granted permanent commission to women officers in the three defence services.
The bench also inquired about the existence of a provision for permanent commission for women in the Coast Guard.
Upon learning that a 10% permanent commission could be granted to women officers, the bench questioned, “Why 10%? Are women considered lesser human beings?”
The bench sought an explanation as to why the Indian Coast Guard was not granting permanent commission to women officers when the Indian Navy was doing so.
It urged the Central Government to formulate a gender-neutral policy on the issue.
