The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know why permanent commission to women officers in Army could not be extended to other non-combat areas besides Judge Advocate General (JAG) and education.
"Let us know why this cannot be extended to all branches except combat unit?" asked a Bench, comprising Justices J M Panchal and Gyan Sudha Mishra.
The court's observation followed the submission made by advocate Meenakshi Lekhi and Rekha Palli, appearing for the women officers, that they could be absorbed in logistics like Army Service Corp, Army Ordnance Corp, Military Engineering Services, Military Intelligence and Signals which are support arms and non-combat branches.
The court also perused a plea by the government seeking some more time to complete the formalities of giving permanent commission to serving women officers in the JAG and educational branches of the Army.
While the request for time till December 1 was opposed by Lekhi and Palli, the court posted the matter for further hearing to November 22.
IndianExpress