"Permanent Commission A Must": Top Court To Centre On Women In Coast Guard

New Delhi:

Giving an ultimatum to the Centre on the issue of granting permanent commission to women Coast Guard officers, the Supreme Court today said “women cannot be left out” and “if you do not do it, we will do it”. “All these functionality etc argument does not hold water in 2024. Women cannot be left out. If you do not do it, we will do it. So take a look at that,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud told the Centre’s counsel, Attorney General R Venkataramani. The Centre’s counsel said he will ask the Coast Guard to file an affidavit.

The court set March 1 as the date for the next hearing. The petition in the matter has been filed by a woman officer of the Coast Guard. It seeks permanent commission for eligible women officers joining the force under short service commission. The Attorney General has argued that the Coast Guard is different from the Navy and Army.

The Centre was pulled up during the previous hearing in the matter on February 19. The Chief Justice had then asked why there was an “indifference” with regard to the Coast Guard. “Why don’t you want women in the Coast Guard? If women can guard the borders, they can also guard the beaches. You talk about Nari Shakti, show it here,” he had said.

The court had questioned the “patriarchal” mindset opposing induction of women into the force. “You have women in the Navy, so what’s special about the Coast Guard. We will open up the whole canvas. Gone are the days when we said that women cannot be a part of the Coast Guard,” the Chief Justice had said.

The petitioner, Priyanka Tyagi, had earlier approached the Delhi High Court, but did not get relief. In her petition, she has pointed to the Supreme Court judgments on permanent commission for women in the Army and Navy.