NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the induction of the woman petitioner, Arshnoor Kaur, into the JAG (Judge Advocate General) post in the Indian Army. It also questioned the Union over allocating fewer posts for women, despite claiming the posts to be ‘gender neutral’. “No nation can be secure if such policies are followed. The executive cannot reserve vacancies for men. The fewer vacancies embarked for women, 3 in number compared to 6 for men, are arbitrary and cannot be allowed under the guise of induction.””The true meaning of gender neutrality and the 2023 rules is that the Union shall select the most meritorious candidates. Restricting the seats of women is violative of right to equality,” said a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Dipankar Datta, and Justice Manmohan. Granting relief to the petitioner, Kaur, the top court directed the Centre to conduct recruitment in the aforesaid manner and publish a combined merit list for all candidates, including men and women. It, however, refused to grant any relief to the second petitioner. The court rejected the submissions of the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati that the JAG posts are gender neutral and that a 50:50 ratio is the selection ratio from 2023 onwards.
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