New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force not to release from service a woman officer who was part of the Operation Balakot and Operation Sindoor but was denied permanent commission.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh sought responses from the Centre and the IAF on the plea of Wing Commander Nikita Pandey who claimed discrimination for being denied permanent commission.
The bench called IAF a professional force and said the uncertainty on service was not good for such officers.
“Our Air Force is one of the best organisations in the world. Officers are very commendable. Quality of coordination they have exhibited, I think it’s unparalleled. Therefore, we always salute them. They are a big asset for the nation. They are the nation, in a way. Because of them, we are able to sleep at night,” Justice Kant said.
The bench noted a “tough life” for Short Service Commission (SSC) officers began following their recruitment, which called for some incentive after 10 or 15 years to grant them permanent commission.
“That sense of uncertainty may not be good for the Armed Forces. It’s a layman’s suggestion, because we are not experts. On minimum benchmarks, there can’t be a compromise,” Justice Kant said.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the officer, said her client was an expert fighter controller, who participated as an expert in the Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS), which were deployed in Operation Sindoor and Operation Balakot. The senior counsel submitted that the officer had served over 13.5 years in service but was impacted by a 2019 policy that denied her permanent commission and forced her to conclude her service after a month.
The officer ranked second in the merit list of expert air fighter controllers in the country, Guruswamy added.
The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre and the IAF, the reason for not granting the officer permanent commission.