Supreme Court Allows Women Officers to Challenge 'Promotion Policy'

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 16 April 2024

Women officers have been granted the right by the Supreme Court to challenge the newly launched Promotion Policy last month by the Indian Army with regard to the promotions to brigadier rank. In addition to this, the honorable court ended the ongoing application for gender-neutral promotion requirements ensuring that female officers can challenge the policy introduced by filing a judicial case.

The Army introduced the "Future Career Progression Policy for Women Officers", on 29 March 2024 which mentions all upcoming promotions made by Selection Board - 2 (SB-2). This announcement has resulted in a number of promotions and relaxations provided for female officers to which few female officers have disapproved and disagreed with the new guidelines. They mentioned that the new policy guidelines mandate the requirement of a two-year higher course which usually starts in the 6th or 12th year of service. This requirement presents complications as several female officers have served for over 19 years. As a result, they have filed a writ petition in the court.

The Babita Puniya case (2020) and the Nitisha case (2021) have been ruled by the Supreme Court which led to great progress toward the advancement of the rights of female army officers. These historic cases have been crucial in eradicating the army's patriarchal culture of gender disparity.

The army has insisted on "essential eligibility criteria" on a minimum of two confidential reports for colonel select rank officers, as any deviation could compromise operational requirements. Achieving brigadier promotion requires operational command for 18-24 months.