Army's Gender-Based Job Quota Declared Unconstitutional
On August 11, the Supreme Court of India declared the policy of reserving separate seats for men and women in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of the Indian Army as unconstitutional. The court ruled that such a policy violates the principle of gender neutrality and should be based solely on merit.
The bench, headed by Justice Manmohan, stated that the executive cannot reserve seats exclusively for men. Allocating 6 seats for men and 3 for women was termed arbitrary and not permissible under the guise of recruitment.
The verdict came in response to a petition filed by two female candidates challenging the Army's policy of separate vacancies for male and female candidates in the JAG branch.
The petitioners argued that this policy violated their right to equality and unnecessarily restricted opportunities for women in the armed forces.