New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday passed an interim order to allow women to take the admission exam to National Defence Academy (NDA) Examination, scheduled to be held on September 5, 2021.
A division bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order in a writ petition filed by Kush Kalra seeking permission for women candidates to appear for the National Defence Academy examination conducted by UPSC every year.
Disagreeing with Centre’s contention, the bench said “This is a policy decision based on gender discrimination…respondents (Centre), must take a constructive view.”
The court slammed a “mindset problem” when it comes to equal service opportunities for men and women in the country’s armed forces, and warned the government “you better change”.
The court also expressed hope that today’s order would persuade the Army to initiate that change of its own accord, rather than be forced to change because of a directive from the judiciary.
According to the petitioner, the eligible and willing female candidates are being denied the opportunity of entry to the National Defence Academy on the basis of their sex, thereby systematically and categorically excluding eligible female candidates the opportunity to train at the premier joint training institute of the Indian Armed Forces which, at a later point of time, becomes a hurdle in the career advancement opportunities for Female Officers in the Armed Forces.
The plea has stated that the act of the respondents to categorically exclude eligible and willing female candidates from appearing for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination over the years, solely on the ground of sex, is a violation of the Fundamental Right of Equality before the Law and Equal Protection of the law.
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