Supreme Court grants pensionary relief to women short service commission officers denied permanent commission

Speaking to The Indian Express, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy who represented several women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force, called it a “big win”. “It is a big win in the context of equality and non-discrimination,” she said.

Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy

The court noted that the “ACR of the appellant-women officers were authored with the assumption that they will never undergo any substantive career progression owing to their ineligibility for the permanent commission for the initial 10 years of service. Since the avenue for PC was offered to them much later, this presumption undermine the entire assessment of their suitability for any career progression undertaken prior to that and thus adversely affected their overall merit in their consideration for PC.”

“The inequality in opportunity afforded to the appellant SSCWO’s to hold criteria appointments has adversely affected their merit, placing them at disadvantage with their male counterparts,” CJI said.

The court observed that the denial of PC to SSCWOs was not merely the outcome of individual assessments, but the consequence of a systemic framework rooted in assumptions that entrenched disadvantages in career progression.

“Where the evaluative framework applied to assess their performance under various parameters lacked the depth and rigour applied to their male counterparts, these assessments have inevitably influenced their service records, comparative merit, and career progression,” the court said.

Relief granted to Army Women Officers: The Supreme Court granted the following relief-

1) The grant of Permanent Commission (PC) to SSCOs who have already been granted PC by the number 5 selection board coming in 2020 and 21 and by the AFT by the impugned judgment shall not be disturbed.

2) As a one time measure the appellant-SSCWOs and the intervenors and the IAS for impleadment who have been released from service during the pendency of this proceedings, shall be deemed to have completed substantive qualifying service of 20 years and shall be entitled to pension and all consequential benefits except arrears of pay on the basis that they have completed the minimum service.

3) The pension shall be fixed on the basis of the date of completion of the deemed service of 20 years, but arrears thereof, if any, shall be paid to the SSCWOs only with effect from 01.01.2025. As a matter of abundant caution, this direction does not apply to the Appellant-SSCWOs and Intervenor-SSCWOs who form part of the JAG and AEC cadres, as they have been eligible for consideration for PC since 2010

4) All SSCWOs who are continuing in service by virtue of our orders dated 09.05.2025 and 19.05.2025, and who have fulfilled the minimum cut-off grade of 60% in the regular No. 5 Selection Boards held in 2020 and 2021, shall be entitled to the grant of permanent commission, subject to their meeting the medical criteria prescribed in the respective General Instructions and on receiving disciplinary and vigilance clearance. This direction does not apply to the Appellant-SSCWOs and Intervenor-SSCWOs who form part of the JAG and AEC cadres.

5) The Appellant-SSCWOs and Intervenor-SSCWOs who have been considered for PC by No. 5 Selection Boards convened after 2021 and are aggrieved by such results may pursue their remedies in accordance with the law. If their challenges are already pending before the AFT or the High Court, they may continue to pursue such claims and may avail the remedy available in law, if aggrieved by the outcome.

6) The method of evaluation of ACRs and the cut-off must be reviewed for future batches, in order to examine the disproportionate impact on SSCWOs who became eligible for the grant of permanent commission in the subsequent years of their service

Relief granted to Navy Women Officers: 1) The grant of Permanent Commission to SSCOs who have already been granted PC by the selection boards convened in December 2020 and December 2022, as well as those granted relief by virtue of the judgment in the Lieutenant Colonel Manish Kumar Singh case, shall not be disturbed.

2) As a one-time measure, instead of convening a special board for reconsideration of the SSCOs, the following categories of officers who were considered for the grant of PC by the selection board convened in December 2020 and are presently still in service shall be entitled to the grant of Permanent Commission, subject to their meeting medical criteria and on receiving discipline and vigilance clearance. The categories are -SSCWOs who were inducted into the Navy prior to January 2009. SSCWOs who were inducted into the Navy after January 2009 in branches cadres excluding Law, Education, and Naval Architecture. Lastly, male SSCOs who were barred from consideration for Permanent Commission as per their initial terms of service/entry.

3) The appellants and intervenors who have been released from service during the pendency of these proceedings shall be deemed to have completed substantive qualifying service of 20 years and shall be entitled to pension and all consequential benefits, except arrears of pay, on the basis that they have completed such minimum service.

4) The pension shall be fixed on the basis of the date of completion of the deemed service of 20 years, but arrears thereof, if any, shall be paid to the SSCOs only with effect from 01.01.2025.

Relief granted to Air Force Women Officers: The grant of PC to SSCOs who have already been granted PC by the boards convened in 2019, 2020, and 2021 shall not be disturbed.

2) As a one-time measure, all the SSCOs who were considered for the grant of PC in all three Boards convened in 2019, 2020, and 2021, shall be deemed to have completed substantive qualifying service of 20 years and shall be entitled to pension and all consequential benefits, except arrears of pay, on the basis that they have completed such minimum service. Even those SSCOs whose three chances were to take place sequentially in 2019, 2020, and 2021 but were declared ‘ineligible’ in one or more of the Boards, shall also benefit from this direction.

3) The pension shall be fixed on the basis of the date of completion of deemed service of 20 years, but arrears shall be payable from 1st January 2025.

4) The pension shall be fixed on the basis of the date of completion of the deemed service of 20 years, but arrears thereof, if any, shall be paid to the SSCOs only with effect from 01.01.2025.

Last Hearing: PTI had earlier reported that the Centre refuted the allegation of discrimination and bias in grant of permanent commission to Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers in the Indian Air Force and said 243 men and 177 women were inducted since 2019.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant while reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas of women SSC officers challenging denial of permanent commission was told by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that after the Centre granted its sanction in 2022, the IAF started induction of women officers through NDA, PTI reported.

It was submitted that on successful completion of training, these officers will be directly granted permanent commission.

The nation is proud of Short Service Commission (SSC) women Air Force officers irrespective of their specific roles in the armed forces, the top had remarked earlier while hearing final arguments against denial of permanent commission to some of them.

Case: The matter was related to a slew of pleas filed by women short service commission officers of the armed forces who sought permanent commission in the service.