SC Says Recruitment Must Be Gender-Neutral, Questions Limits on Women in Combat Roles

By: WE staff | Tuesday, 12 August 2025

• Supreme Court asks why women officers, who can pilot Rafales and be part of UN peacekeeping combat operations in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel
• Court also challenges prohibitions on women being assigned to infantry or artillery units in times of crisis.
• Regulations that hiring in streams where women are allowed must be gender-neutral and merit-based

The Supreme Court on Monday asked why women officers, who can pilot Rafale fighter aircraft and be part of UN peacekeeping combat operations in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, could not be employed in counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist duties, or assigned to infantry and artillery units in times of crisis. It held that recruitment in streams where women are allowed has to be merit-based and gender-neutral, with no limitation on the number of women candidates.

A panel of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan had condemned the Army's practice of drawing up two different merit lists for male and female aspirants in the Short Service Commission (SSC) law graduates' course of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch, reserving three for women and six for men.

The court felt this was discriminatory, observing that the practice limited opportunity for women although they have performed better than their male counterparts. Today, there are 10 streams of the Army where females can serve as SSC officers.

Justice Manmohan, penning the verdict for the bench, said that after the Army allows women into a corps, department, or branch, it cannot place additional restrictions upon their induction since Section 12 of the Army Act, 1950, does not confer such powers. The verdict was delivered in support of a female candidate who scored higher than several of the men but was refused selection because of the quota fixed for women.

Rejecting Centre and Army's contention that JAG officers are in fact combatants and therefore women must be excluded from them, the court reasoned such a contention could be broadened to exclude women from all Army streams.

It pointed out that female officers like Parachute Air Defence Unit's Captain Ojaswita Shree, Major Dwipannita Kalita of airborne medical unit, and Rafale pilot Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh are already on high-risk missions behind enemy lines. Female soldiers in the army also handle tough jobs like moving convoys of 30–50 vehicles through militant-infested zones like Leh, Srinagar, Udhampur, and the northeast—proving their mettle under tough operating conditions.