New Delhi : The central government has decided to open the doors of National Defense Academy (NDA) for women also. The Supreme Court on August 18 broke the 65-year-old glass ceiling and ruled that women can also sit in the upcoming NDA entrance exam, assuming that the policy that restricts their admission to the elite institution It is based on “gender discrimination”.
The Center on Wednesday informed the top court that the decision to allow women to join the Joint Defense Services Training Institute of the Indian Armed Forces was taken on Tuesday evening in consultation with the chiefs of the three wings of the armed forces.
A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul appreciated the government’s decision and sought a detailed affidavit by September 20 on the manner in which the policy would be implemented and the timeline for its implementation.
“We hope that the defense forces will give importance to the vital role of women. You can go at a comfortable pace, but there must be deterrence… Armed forces play an important role in the system, to perform an extremely important function. We will not easily interfere in their roles and want them to take a proactive approach towards gender equality instead of stepping in the court,” said the bench, also comprising Justice MM Sundaresh.
The court also observed that the armed forces are most respected in the country, but their resistance may sometimes not be dealt with well. “They need to do more towards gender equality. There is a need to adopt a dynamic approach,” it said.
The top court had on August 18 rejected the government’s contention that the ban on training of women in the Pune-based NDA was a policy decision, while issuing an interim order to appear for the November examination. It had also asked the government to “take a more constructive approach on the matter”.
The order was passed on a petition filed by Kush Kalra for equal opportunities for women in the NDA and the Indian Naval Academy. Senior advocate Chinmay Pradeep Sharma and advocate Mohit Paul, appearing for the petitioner, had argued that the explicit exclusion of women candidates from NDA is unconstitutional and has been done purely on the basis of their gender.
Under the current eligibility criteria, only male candidates who have attained Class 12 level or its equivalent education and were between the ages of 16 साढ़े and 19 years were eligible to apply.
Those who pass the NDA exam are called for an interview by the Services Selection Board (SSB) and after the medical examination, the candidates are recruited into the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for pre-commissioning training. NDA was established in 1955.
On Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the Center and began her arguments by saying that the court’s pressure and push-ups have resulted.
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