Women’s entry to NDA will not be delayed: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stressed that it “cannot belie the aspirations of young girls” as it rejected the Union government’s request to delay the first-ever examination for women candidates for their entry into the National Defence Academy (NDA), and directed that they shall be allowed to sit for the upcoming exam on November 14.

“We will not put this train in reverse gear... we will not set the clock back. A beginning has to be made now. Having given some hope to women that they can take exams in November, we don’t want to belie that hope by saying they will have to wait for one more year and then something may happen. Exam cannot be a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and BR Gavai said.

While seeking the exemption for this year’s admission, the government on Monday said that women can sit for the entrance exam in April-may next year and join the academy in January 2023. But the court was emphatic that there cannot be a request from the authorities to make the aspiring women skip the upcoming exam in November.

The bench accepted submissions by senior counsel Chinmoy Pradip Sharma and advocate Mohit Paul, who appeared for the petitioner in the case, that the Centre’s latest affidavit, filed on September 20, was effectively asking to wipe out the court’s interim order of August 18 that permitted women to take the exam this year.

“What would effectively mean by the submission of the armed forces is – No jam today, jam tomorrow! It will be difficult for us to accept that position, the aspirations of women having been arisen in view of the order, albeit subject to the final outcome of the petition. We would thus not like to effectively vacate the order passed,” said the bench in its order.

The order added: “The armed forces having dealt with very diffi

THE COURT WAS EMPHATIC THAT IT CANNOT ‘SET THE CLOCK BACK’ AND ALLOW WOMEN TO SIT FOR THE EXAM NEXT YEAR

cult situations admirably, both at the borders and inside the country, to deal with emergencies is a part of their training. We are sure they can deal with this ‘emergency’, if it is so perceived.”

The bench directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to issue a revised notification for the entrance exam for NDA after consultation with the ministry of defence (MOD), which will indicate tentative requirements for the women candidates if the standards cannot not be finalised by the time of issuance of the notification. It fixed the petition filed by Kush Kalra in the third week of January, noting the court will pass further orders emerging from the situation that emerges later.

Representing the Centre, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati tried to persuade the bench that women candidates will have to skip the exam in November in view of the sweeping changes that have to be brought about before women cadets are inducted and start their training at the joint defence service training institute of the Indian armed forces.

“There is a study group in place to examine all the requirements relating to curriculum, medical standards, accommodation, training needs, etc. We will be in a very difficult and tight situation if we are not ready for the women who clear the exam this year,” said Bhati.

The bench retorted: “Armed forces have been in far more difficult and tight situations... It is not very easy but it is not that complex as it is being projected. Armed forces deal with all kinds of emergency situations and they are the best people to handle such situations. What answers do we have for women who are now ready to take exams? Will we say you try your luck sometime in future? No, you work out something this year only.”

The bench further told the ASG: “It has to begin this year. We appreciate all your problems but I am sure you people are capable of making arrangements. You proceed with the exam and let us see how many women sit this year. There may not be many candidates this year. We appreciate your efforts in areas where you will have to make changes such as curriculum, fitness, accommodation, etc. But the exam cannot be postponed.”

It remained firm that instead of waiting for a perfect model to come up, the process must commence immediately while the other nuances of their absorption and training, depending on the number of women who sat for the exam and those who clear it, can be dealt with at a later stage. At this point, Paul, appearing for Kalra, requested the bench to issue appropriate directions to ensure women candidates get sufficient time to prepare for the exam. The bench, however, refrained from passing any order. “Let us accept that there may not be the best result this time. The idea is to begin the process. You will get a better process next time. This is a big step and we appreciate that the armed forces have taken this decision. It will not send the right signal to postpone it but we also don’t want to push the agenda too much. Everything takes some time,” it told Paul.

Turning to Bhati, the bench pointed out that the court was not dealing with a field where women are not absorbed at all since the armed forces do absorb women in various roles at a later stage. “We are therefore talking about the feeding channel only. We appreciate that the mental block seems to have been removed and that the process may take a little time but let’s make a beginning. Certainly, aspirations having been raised, we are not willing to whittle down their aspirations. We are only helping you to iron out the creases but the clock won’t be set back,” it told the ASG. Bhati, on her part, said that the Centre will come back if there is any difficulty in implementing the orders.

The bench also heard another petition for admission of girls into the Dehradun-based Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and asked Bhati why is taking it long for the Centre to come clear on the issue when a decision has already been taken for NDA. Bhati replied that “RIMC will have to follow the suit now that NDA is opening up” and a study group has been set up separately to examine the issues relating to admission of women in RIMC.

She added that a decision will have to be made whether girls will be admitted in the same institution or a separate institution only for girls will be created.

“We don’t have problems with whatever you decide. But now that a course has been charted for the NDA, a similar chart will have to be there for RIMC,” said the bench, giving the Centre two weeks to submit its response. The court took note of the fact that October 31 is the last date of filing applications and the exam for RIMC is scheduled for December 18.

On August 18, the top court directed that women can also sit for the upcoming NDA exam while holding that the policy that restricts their entry is based on “gender discrimination”.

Following this interim directive, the government on September 8 conceded that it had taken an in-principle decision to throw open the doors of NDA to women cadets, but wanted an exemption for this year’s admission. To this, the court called for an affidavit.

Submitting its affidavit on September 20, the government said it proposes to have the necessary mechanism in place by May 2022 -- the time by which UPSC is required to publish the first notification of the Year 2022 for entrance examination for NDA.

The affidavit further said that various amenities pertaining to accommodation, training capacity, etc, will have to be worked out.