All women officers completing seven years with the Indian Navy will now be eligible for permanent commission. The Navy was the only wing of the armed forces which had denied the permanent commission to women.
With the decks cleared, the first set of women officers on permanent commission will be appointed this year.
Women officers in the Navy are commissioned for short service with a maximum term of 14 years, which makes them ineligible for pension since it requires a minimum 20 years of service. In fact, no short service commission officer, male or female, is entitled for pension.Three women officers – Commander Suman Kumari, Commander Supriya Sethu and Commander Pawan Preet Mann – had moved the Supreme Court seeking reinstatement in the Navy. They have now been called for their medical tests for the permanent commission.
A total of 17 short service commission women officers had moved various writ petitions seeking permanent commissions. The verdict on the remaining petitions is also expected soon.
In November last year, the apex court had barred the Navy from releasing 17 women officers, who had challenged the government’s decision to extend permanent commission to women officers in education, law and naval architecture to those who joined after September 2008.
In 2010, a similar court order had allowed women permanent commission in the Army and the Air Force, noting that women officers “deserve better from the government”.