Supreme Court strikes down Army’s JAG hiring policy, calls it ‘reservation for male officers’

The ruling by a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan came on a plea filed by two women candidates challenging the 2023 merit list, in which more seats were reserved for men. The petitioners were denied selection despite their higher rankings — the women were ranked 4th and 5th in the merit list despite securing more grades, while a male candidate who was ranked 3rd had “obtained lesser marks than the female candidate placed at Serial No.10 in the Females Merit List”.

The court said that the selection of the male candidate with fewer marks over the female candidates with more marks “amounts to indirect discrimination” and therefore, the male candidate is “not entitled to any relief”.

The recruitment notification provided for only three vacancies for female candidates, as against six vacancies for male candidates.

The Army’s policy for JAG recruitment to “correct the past” and to “compensate the women for their previous non-enrolment,” recommends an intake ratio of 50% (men) and 50% (women) for JAG branch with effect from year 2024 till year 2032 or till the time 50:50 cadre ratio is achieved, whichever is earlier.

The court said even this “‘gender-neutral” policy is discriminatory against women. “However, to restrict the women candidates to 50% of the seats, as argued by the Respondents, despite they being more meritorious than the male candidates is violative of the Right to Equality,” the court said.

The ruling clarified that the court calling for equality in recruitment is not a case of it “imposing its own views or predilection on the Army” but “implementing the Constitution and the mandate of law”.

The court also said that it “agrees with the view held by many that ‘no nation can be secure, when half of its population (i.e. its women force) is held back”.

“Consequently, this court directs the Union of India to henceforth conduct recruitment in the aforesaid manner as well as publish a common merit list for all JAG candidates (i.e. for all male and female candidates) and make the merit list public as well as the marks obtained by all candidates participating in the selection process,” the court said.