Swaraj, Karat write to Antony HC verdict on women in Services

Two women Members of Parliament have urged Defence Minister A K Antony not to oppose the Delhi High Court verdict on granting permanent commission to female officers in the armed forces.

New Delhi: Two women Members of Parliament
have urged Defence Minister A K Antony not to oppose the Delhi
High Court verdict on granting permanent commission to female
officers in the armed forces in the Supreme court, even as the
services were studying all implications of the judgement.

In separate letters to Antony, Leader of Opposition
Sushma Swaraj and CPI(M) MP Brinda Karat said the High Court
verdict was very reasonable and the government should not
oppose it.

Seeking A K Antony`s personal intervention in the matter,
Swaraj said, "I have heard that Central Government is going to
the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict. I request
you not to do so as this was a very reasonable decision."

She urged the Defence Minister to direct his Ministry
officials to not file a case against the verdict in the
Supreme Court and "work towards implementing the high Court
order."

Noting that permanent commission to women will be a
"significant step", Brinda Karat said, "the women officers are
young, most of them still in their thirties, have dedicated
themselves to the Service of the nation and removing them at
this stage in their lives would be a great injustice."

In its judgement on March 12, the Delhi High Court had
ordered the Army and the Air Force to grant permanent
commission to women officers and gave them two months
implement the order.

The armed forces are in the process of examining the
implications of Delhi High Court`s verdict to grant permanent
commission to women officers.

"The legal, financial and other implications of the
court`s judgement are being examined. All the three services
are doing so and whenever they reach a conclusion, the legal
branch will tell us what action is to be taken and the
government will also be party to it," Air Chief Marshal P V
Naik had said after taking over as the Chairman, Chiefs of
Staff Committee on March 31.

PTI

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