The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea which has raised the issue of exclusion of eligible and willing female candidates from joining the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) solely on the ground of sex which allegedly is a violation of fundamental right of equality.
The plea has sought a direction to the concerned authorities to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the ‘National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination’ and train at the NDA.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S. A. Bobde issued notices to the Centre, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and others seeking their responses on the plea which said “the categorical exclusion of eligible female candidates from entering the National Defence Academy is not constitutionally justifiable and is simply done on the basis of their sex.” The bench, also comprising justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, allowed a separate application filed by a Uttar Pradesh based woman seeking impleadment in the matter.
The petition read, “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”.
The eligibility criteria is that a candidate should have 10+2 level of education. Kalra argued that eligible female candidates are denied opportunity to take the NDA examination because of their gender. He added that the denial is the reason women do not have access to enter the armed forces as officers at the level men become junior officers.
The petition said that even after the recent leeways given by the Supreme Court which allowed women to join the permanent commission, the number of women officers in the army is extremely low. It also said that the NDA does give an explanation as to why women are denied entry.
