government tells 34 female Army officers to list the steps for advancement

  • Dec. 6, 2022, 12:15 p.m.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Center about steps it proposed to take regarding the alleged delay in promotion of 34 women Army officers, even after granting them permanent commissions on the court’s orders in 2020.

Senior advocate R Balasubramanian, representing the Center, assured a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that no male officer had been promoted since the last hearing on November 22. "It is my word." "No individual has been promoted after I made the statement on the last date of hearing," the senior advocate said.

"We will hear it on Friday... "We will ensure that justice is done," the bench said, adding, "We want you to tell us as to what you are going to do to the pleas by women officers." The bench will take up the matter on December 9.

Questioning the Army over holding Special Selection Boards only to promote male officers and not their female counterparts, the Supreme Court had on November 22 asked the Center to respond to a petition by the women officers seeking promotions.

The women officers said despite the Supreme Court’s directive in the Babita Punia case in February 2020, the promotions of women officers had not been given effect.

On behalf of the female officers, including Col (TS) Priyamvada A Mardikar and Col (TS) Asha Kale, senior counsel Mohana said that after the top court’s March 25, 2021, verdict, the Army had said a special selection board would be held and women officers with seniority between 1992 and 2007 would be considered for promotion to the rank of Colonel. She said nothing had happened till date, even though the Army held two such boards to promote male officers. The women officers said it was completely unjustified, unsustainable, illegal, unreasonable, arbitrary, and a matter of great humiliation to the senior women officers that respondents had been promoting junior male officers to the Colonel rank while withholding the promotion of their female counterparts.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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