Indian Army grants permanent commission to 147 more women SSC officers
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The Army had constituted a special selection board in September 2020 to screen women officers.
New Delhi: Consequent to the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court granting a Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Indian Army, 147 more women officers were granted permanent commissioning on Wednesday taking the total PC granted to 424 out of 615 officers considered.
As per a statement by the defence ministry, all Women Officers granted PC would now undergo special training courses and challenging military assignments to empower them for higher leadership roles in the Indian Army.
The Indian Army in the statement also said that the results of few women officers were withheld for administrative reasons.
"Results of a few Women Officers withheld for administrative reasons and awaiting the outcome of clarification petition filed by UOI in the Supreme Court," it said.
The Supreme Court on March 25 had said the Army's evaluation criteria for granting permanent commission (PC) to women SSC officers systematically discriminated against them.
The apex court, in a landmark ruling in February 2020, had directed the Centre to ensure that women SSC officers are given PC in the Army, including command postings.
Therefore, the Army had constituted a special selection board in September 2020 to screen women officers. The results were declared in November 2020. The women officers who were not granted PC in November 2020 moved the Supreme Court.
A batch of 33 women officers has already successfully completed the mid-level tactical orientation course from Army War College Mhow recently, as per the statement by the ministry.
The ministry also added that all women SSC officers, who were considered by the Army's selection board and not granted PC, will still be eligible for pension subject to serving for a minimum of 20 years in service.