Delhi HC gives government 8 weeks to decide on women joining armed forces through CDS

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Delhi High Court on Friday, April 26, gave the Union Ministry of Defence eight weeks to decide on a plea seeking women’s recruitment into the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force through Combined Defence Services (CDS) exams.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh, while disposing of the plea, ordered that the government should decide on the petition without the “sword of the petition hanging over its head”. However, the lawyer representing the petitioner asked the court to keep the plea pending until the government decides.

The petition filed by advocate Kush Kalra stated that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) excluded women from appearing in the exams that invited applications for recruitment in the armed forces through the CDS exams held on April 21, 2024.

In response, Kirtiman Singh, the Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC), stated that the government has been progressively implementing measures to allow women to serve in the armed forces.

Singh said that recruitment for women has been allowed in the National Defence Academy (NDA). “The grievance is that it should be done this year. This year, the cadre allocation has already been done. I am sure it (the introduction of women in the Army, Navy and Air Force through CDS) will also be done. But I can’t make a statement that it will be done straight away,” Singh said, as reported by Bar and Bench.

Kalra pointed out that the notification restricts women from applying to IMA, INA and IAF by stating that women are only eligible to apply for the Short Service Commission (SSC) at the Officers’ Training Academy.

Previously, women were not permitted into the Indian Military Academy (IMA), the Indian Naval Academy (INA) and the Air Force Academy (AFA), neither through the NDA nor through the CDS. However, the Supreme Court in August 2023 gave the nod to allow women into the armed forces.

The NDA exam is for candidates who are studying or have passed Class 12th, while graduates are eligible to apply for CDS.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow