In Brief
Women Short Service Commission officers in the Indian Army sought Permanent Commissions on equal terms with male counterparts. The Delhi High Court had granted relief in 2010, but the Union delayed implementation for nine years. The Supreme Court upheld the 2019 policy extending PCs to women across ten streams, but struck down restrictions limiting women to "staff appointments only." Holding that blanket gender-based exclusions are unconstitutional without individuated justification, the Court directed all serving women SSC officers—regardless of service length—to be considered for PC with full career progression rights, rejecting stereotypes about women's physical capacity and domestic obligations as invalid constitutional grounds for discrimination.
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