“You speak of Nari Shakti, now show it here. You must come up with a policy which treats women fairly,” the Supreme Court said on Monday, pulling up the Centre for not granting permanent commission to eligible women officers in the Indian Coast Guard.
The Supreme Court questioned why women officers in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) cannot be treated equally to their male counterparts in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, who appeared for ICG, why were they being so patriarchal? It also asked the Centre to adopt a more gender-neutral policy and treat women officers “fairly”.
The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, argued that the Indian Coast Guard operates differently than the Army and Navy.
Why is there a need for Gender Equality?
A woman officer with a 14-year stint as a pilot in the ICG was denied permanent entry despite her outstanding service record, which includes saving more than 300 lives at sea.
Priyanka Tyagi was part of the first-ever-all women crew on a Dornier aircraft for maritime patrolling in the eastern region in 2016. Despite her accomplishments, she was denied permanent commission, for which, she approached the Delhi High Court.
The Delhi HC denied interim relief to her by directing the ICG to continue her service till a judicial decision is made. She then moved the Supreme Court.
After hearing her plea, the SC decided to expand the ambit of the case that would be applicable to others. It stressed that the court would not limit its intervention to Tyagi’s case alone but would also examine the overall policy.
The Supreme Court bench was told that only 10% permanent commission is allowed for women officers.
Role of Women Combat Officers
The ICJ became the first force to deploy women officers in combat roles on board its ships that patrol India’s maritime border with Pakistan.
These women officers are trained to handle all missions under the Coast Guard charter including boarding suspicious vessels, chasing such boats in the high seas or catching contraband smugglers.
The female officers are deployed along with senior male officers and sailors to carry out the same task that the men are expected to perform at the hovercrafts, Coast Guard officers had told India Today.
The Coast Guard began inducting women officers after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interaction with military commanders in 2016 urged them to open more avenues for female officers.
Later, the Air Force started inducting women officers in combat aircraft flying.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was formally established in 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978, of Parliament as an independent armed force of India. It has more than 130 female officers under its command, forming around 10% of the officer cadre.
Debate Over Permanent Commission
Critics have long cited physiology, gender biases, potential disruptions to unit cohesion, discomfort among male colleagues, safety and privacy issues, and lack of adequate facilities for women in combat environment as potential challenges.
The officers inducted through the Short Service Commission usually serve for 14 years. At the end of the 10th year, they have three options: They can opt for Permanent Commission; have an option of four-year extension; can resign any time during the extended four-year period. Permanent Commission entitles the officer to serve in the Navy until he retires.
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