Emphasising the institutional sensitivity, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central government not to release from service 69 women officers of the Indian Army’s Short Service Commission (SSC), who have approached the top court challenging the denial of permanent commission to them.

Posting the matter for hearing in August and asking the government not to release the women army officers till the next date of hearing, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh told the government not to lower the morale of women officers “in the prevailing situation”.

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“In the prevailing situation, let’s not bring their morale down. They are brilliant officers; you can use their services somewhere else. This is not the time they be asked to roam around in the Supreme Court. They have a better place to be and serve the country,” Justice Kant observed during the hearing.

The court made the oral observation after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Ministry of Defence, argued that the decision not to grant permanent commission to 69 women officers of the Short Service Commission was administrative in nature and rooted in the Army’s long-standing policy to maintain a young profile. She told the bench that only 250 officers are granted permanent commission every year across the three services – army, air force, and the navy.

Resisting granting any interim relief to the women officers who had knocked the doors of the top court, ASG Bhati stated that the policy requires periodic churn in the forces to retain operational agility and youthfulness.

Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing petitioner Colonel Geeta Sharma, invoked the case of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi—who earlier had to approach the Supreme Court for similar relief—and who has since earned distinction by addressing the media during the recent Operation Sindoor alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh in the presence of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

“Today, Colonel Qureshi is the face of the Army,” Guruswamy said, highlighting how officers denied Commission have continued to serve with valour when retained.

The bench, however, declined to go into the merits of the policy at this stage and issued no formal stay, but asked the government not to precipitate matters by releasing the women officers before the next date of hearing. “In such times, we need our best minds and disciplined officers to be focused on the job, not litigation,” the bench said.

The officers before the top court are among those who were denied permanent commission in the wake of the implementation of the February 17, 2020 judgment, where the top court had held that women SSC officers are entitled to permanent commission at par with their male counterparts.