In a major relief for Wing Commander Nikita Pandey, who claimed discrimination for being denied permanent commission in the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Supreme Court said uncertainty on service was not good for such officers.
The apex court directed IAF as well as the Centre to not release the woman officer from service. Wing Commander Pandey was part of Operation Balakot and the most-recent Operation Sindoor.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh sought responses from the Centre and the IAF on the plea of Wing Commander Nikita Pandey who claimed discrimination for being denied permanent commission.
Calling IAF a professional force, the SC bench said the uncertainty on service was not good for such officers. "Our Air Force is one of the best organisations in the world. Officers are very commendable. Quality of coordination they have exhibited, I think it's unparalleled. Therefore, we always salute them. They are a big asset for the nation. They are the nation, in a way. Because of them, we are able to sleep at night," Justice Kant said.
The bench noted a "tough life" for Short Service Commission (SSC) officers began following their recruitment, which called for some incentive after 10 or 15 years to grant them permanent commission.
"That sense of uncertainty may not be good for the Armed Forces. It's a layman's suggestion, because we are not experts. On minimum benchmarks, there can't be a compromise," Justice Kant said.
Appearing for the officer, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy said her client was an expert fighter controller who participated as an expert in the Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS) which were deployed in Operation Sindoor and Operation Balakot.
The senior counsel submitted that the officer had served over 13.5 years in service but was impacted by a 2019 policy that denied her permanent commission and forced her to conclude her service after a month.
The officer is ranked second in the merit list of expert air fighter controllers in the country, Guruswamy added.
On being asked by the bench the reason for not granting Wing Commander Pandey permanent commission, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati - who was appearing for the Centre and the IAF - said that the petitioner was found unfit by the selection board.
According to ASG Bhati, the officer directly moved the top court without filing any representation and informed the bench that a second selection board would be considering her case.
The bench ordered Pandey not to be released from service till further orders and posted the hearing on August 6. The Supreme Court, however, said no equity would be created in her favour and left open all the contentions in the case.
Bhati had no objections in officers continuing in service as most of the them were brilliant but ultimate question related to the comparative merit and the need for keeping the forces young.
She said a "steep pyramidal structure" was followed by IAF which requires that certain officers go out of the service after serving 14 years and new officers take their place.
Justice Kant told ASG Bhati that armed forces should have the capacity to accommodate all SSC officers in the permanent commission, highlighting women officers performed exceedingly well.
"Due to the lack of permanent commission for women officers after a long duration, SSC recruitment are taking place. That is the reason that inter se competition arises after 10, 12 and 15 years. You can have a policy of taking that many SCC officers, who can be accommodated in the Permanent Commission, if they are found suitable. If you have 100 SCC officers, you should have the capacity to take 100 of them to the permanent commission," the judge said.
In her response, Bhati said that normally out of 100 officers considered for the permanent commission, 90-95% officers were found fit but some lost out only on account of comparative merit. "There are a limited number of posts, it's a very steep pyramid structure," she added.
-With agency inputs
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