A Bench of Chief Justice Suryakant and Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N. Kotiswar Singh made the remarks while hearing petitions filed by Wing Commander Sucheta Edan and several other officers. The petitioners argued that changes introduced under the 2019 Human Resource Policy led to discriminatory assessments, denying them PC in violation of Article 14.
According to the petition, a number of women officers were not considered for PC because they were pregnant or on maternity leave during the evaluation period, despite maintaining strong service records and high CGPA. The officers contended that this directly contradicted earlier Supreme Court judgments that prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
During the hearing, one officer told the court that their roles and responsibilities had been unfairly undermined by the revised criteria. The Bench acknowledged the concerns and said the matter required careful examination. The final round of arguments is scheduled for December 9.
The issue has renewed debate over gender parity in the armed forces, four years after the Supreme Court’s landmark rulings directing equal consideration for women in the Army and Navy.
The court also referred to the recent case of Wing Commander Nikita Pandey, who approached the judiciary earlier this year alleging discriminatory denial of PC despite an exemplary service record that included participation in the Balakot air strikes and Operation Sindhu. On May 22, the Supreme Court ordered that she should not be removed from service until her case is resolved.
The outcome of the pending petitions is expected to have significant implications for future career pathways of women serving under the SSC framework in the Air Force.
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