In a recent hearing, the Supreme Court has instructed short service commission women officers in the Indian Navy, seeking promotion to captain rank, to file their petitions with the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The directive from Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan follows the landmark March 17, 2020, decision that affirmed the right of women officers to a permanent commission but left several specific promotion issues unresolved.
The justices emphasized that the nuanced matters of benchmark criteria, evaluation of annual confidential reports, and seniority require thorough examination by the AFT for a conclusive determination. This move aims to address individual cases more effectively, acknowledging that the matter has been pending for over a decade.
During the proceedings, counsel for the women officers highlighted that despite the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling, which included provisions for consequential benefits such as promotions, these had not been implemented. In response, the bench suggested that non-compliance with the court’s directives might warrant a contempt petition rather than a miscellaneous application, the latter being the route previously chosen by the officers.
The Attorney General, R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, argued that since the verdict, the defence forces had been implementing the grant of permanent commissions, albeit with a three-year delay. He noted that those who did not meet the benchmark criteria and were aggrieved by non-promotion could appeal to the AFT.
This decision to delegate the detailed adjudication of such cases to the AFT is seen as a step towards efficient legal processing, relieving the Supreme Court from handling multiple individual grievances that involve complex factual and legal questions.
