NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Centre’s request to defer the induction of women into the National Defence Academy (NDA) till next year, directing the defence ministry to do the needful so that female candidates can write the upcoming NDA entrance exams in November.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the bench that the military establishment would need some time to induct women into NDA. She said a study group is looking into the infrastructure and course requirements for women cadets and that a system will be put in place by May 2022.
However, a bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the admission of women cannot be postponed as it will mean losing a year. “What answer would we have for the students who are on the anvil of taking the exam? Don’t ask us to effectively vacate the order. You go on with the exercise. Let us see the result and see how many women get in,” it said.
“We have given a thought to the matter, and the difficulties expressed by the armed services. What effectively would mean by the submission of armed forces is ‘No Jam today Jam tomorrow’. It will be difficult for us to accept that position,” the bench said.
The court said the armed forces are trained to deal with emergencies and expressed hope that they will come up with a faster solution to facilitate the entry of women. The bench kept the petition pending and slated it for further directions if needed in January 2022.