SC rejects Centre's plan to defer NDA exam for girls to next year

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that women should be allowed to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exams this year. The court rejected the Centre's request to defer the new plan to establish a new system next year.

The court stated that we have hope for the girls and cannot deny them that hope now, reported NDTV. It added that the "no exam today, exam tomorrow" approach would go against the aspirations of young women. The NDA induction policy was earlier called out as discriminatory to women by the court.

The union government had told the court that there was too little time to let women take the NDA exams this year and suggested that it be deferred to May 2022. Justices SK Kaul and BR Gavai pointed out that this will delay things by a year because the intake will take place in January 2023.

The court also directed a notification for exams on November 14. This will be an opportunity for the first-ever women candidates of NDA.

The Centre said that it is in the process of establishing "appropriate" medical and physical fitness standards and building "required infrastructure", which includes "robust physical separation between male and female residential areas".

The government noted that there were no parallel physical standards for women candidates, and they are being formulated. "The issue needs detailed analysis including expert insights to maintain operational readiness. Gynaecologists, sports medicine experts, counsellors, nursing staff, and female attendants would also need to be in place for women cadets."

The petition that led to the court's earlier ruling to admit women to the NDA had argued that the categorical exclusion of eligible female candidates from the NDA was unconstitutional and done entirely on the basis of their sex.

The court added that the armed forces are trained in dealing with emergencies because they have dealt with very difficult situations and emergencies.