New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it cannot run the affairs of the Indian Army and it can only intervene on point of law while hearing a plea by a woman colonel given the charge of a company of soldiers ordinarily commanded by a major, two ranks her junior. Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that this case should go to the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), as it involves, too, many facts.
Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the petitioners, raised the issue of the woman colonel being given the charge of a company which is ordinarily led by a major rank officer. The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed, “We now can’t run the affairs of the Army”. The bench further added that it interferes in those cases on issues of principles and “surely, we can’t start running the command structure of the Army”.
A counsel submitted that not a single woman has been given a promotion after 2020, and they are all in service. Arora said in the present case the woman officer has been given a permanent commission and she is a colonel in the Army, and it is “gross humiliation” of the woman officer, who is now a colonel.
Arora added that usually, a colonel has to be put in a command post, which will have a certain number of JCOs (junior commissioned officers), officers and others under them. “Now people, who are junior to me, have been given units in those commands,” she submitted before the court.
The bench told the AG that he has heard the grievances of the officers now and these issues can be examined by authorities and also asked the petitioners to circulate a note detailing their grievances. The bench said the respondents can file their response on the issues raised. After hearing submissions, the top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 27. In 2020, the apex court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission.
