In Brief
Women officers of the Indian Army, granted Permanent Commission following an earlier Supreme Court judgment, challenged their non-empanelment for promotion to Colonel rank by selection. The Army had applied cut-off dates for Confidential Reports that corresponded to male officer batches, effectively excluding several years of the women officers' performance from consideration. The Court held this approach arbitrary and violative of Article 14. It ordered a fresh selection exercise with a common cut-off date of June 2021, to be completed within two weeks, while protecting those already promoted.
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