Earlier, women officers in the Army were only eligible for short service commission. Now the Supreme Court has dismissed the submissions of the Union Government that women are physiologically weaker and held that women officers in short term commission are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service. This verdict was passed on a 10 year old appeal filed by the government against an order of the Delhi High Court dated March 12, 2010.
The contentions of the government were that women had to go through pregnancy, childbirth and take care of the family. Besides, they also ran the risk of getting captured by the enemy and being taken ad prisoners of war. However, the Supreme Court castigated the government for throwing women in poor light and held that these age-old patriarchal notions were constitutionally invalid and discriminatory and affected the dignity of women officers. It finally dismissed the appeal of the government in a 54 page judgment and held that women officers are eligible for permanent commission.
