NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has reinstated a woman officer in the Indian Coast Guard after she was released and had approached the SC seeking restoration.
Directing the Indian Coast Guard to note “the march of time” regarding the permanent commission of women in the Army, Navy and Air Force, the court asked the force to reinstate a woman short-service commission officer, who was released from service in December 2023.
The direction by a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, came as an interim measure till a decision on her plea for parity with male counterparts. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee represented the Coast Guard.
“Look at your resistance to having a single woman in the Coast Guard. This was the same resistance Cornelia Sorabjee (first female advocate in India) put up when she was told you are not good enough. When women came into the Army and Air Force, they were told you are not good enough. And in the Navy, they were told we do not have toilets for you.
See the march of time,” read the order. “As regards Army, Navy and Air Force, this court has already rendered judgments. Unfortunately, the Indian Coast Guard continues to be an outlier,” it added. Priyanka Tyagi, who served as an assistant commandant (general duty), had filed a petition at the time of her release from force on December 31, 2023.
Mentioning her career graph, as per the petition, she was the best in her peer group having clocked 3,700 flying hours, which, as per her, was better than her male counterparts. She was even recommended by her seniors for absorption in the force considering her meritorious service.
It was the Supreme Court in February 2020 which paved the way for a permanent Commission for the women officers into the Indian Army. After that things have changed a lot. Post the order, the service conditions of men and women officers were made exactly the same and the specialisations gender neutral.
Also in top court
SC to hear pleas for cross verification of votes
The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it will hear on April 16 a batch of pleas seeking cross-verification of the votes cast with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. The VVPAT is an independent vote verification system which enables an elector to see whether his vote was cast correctly. It generates a paper slip which can be viewed by the voter. It is kept in a sealed cover and can be opened in case of a dispute. The bench said it will consider all pleas in the matter for hearing on next Tuesday. The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will begin on April 19. The top court had said on April 3 it would hear next week the plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) along with other matters, after advocate Prashant Bhushan sought an urgent hearing.