The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Tuesday to consider granting permanent commission (PC) to women officers in Indian Navy within three months and it should be based on the Naval Ceremonial Regulations of 1963.
The Short Service Commission (SCC) officers of the Navy who are found suitable for the grant of PC shall be entitled to all consequential benefits including arrears of pay, promotions and retirement benefits as and when due, the top court said.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi said, the applications of the serving officers for the grant of PCs shall be considered on the basis of the norms contained in 1963 Regulations which include availability of vacancies in the stabilised cadre at the material time, determination of suitability and recommendation of the Chief of the Naval Staff.
"Their empanelment shall be based on inter se merit evaluated on the ACRs of the officers under consideration, subject to the availability of vacancies," the bench said.
The top court invoked its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution for directing as a one-time measures SSC officers in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) cadre of Navy, who were part of the litigation before the High Court in 2010, shall be entitled for pensionary benefits.
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for several women officers, said that around 100 women officers both serving and retired will benefit from the verdict of the top court.
It said that once the policy decision of the union government was communicated on February 25, 1999, the authorities were bound to consider the claims of the SSC officers for the grant of PC in terms of Regulation 203 of the Naval Ceremonial Regulations of 1963.
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"The naval authorities and the Union Government failed to do so, depriving them of the entitlement to be considered for the grant of PC. By the failure of the authorities to consider the SSC officers for PCs in terms of the policy communication of 25 February 1999, SSC officers lost out on the opportunity to be granted PCs and all the responsibilities and benefits attached to the grant of PC, including promotions and pensionable service," it said.
It said that the situation which has come to pass is due to the failure of the authorities to implement statutory notifications issued under Section 9(2) the policy statement of February 25, 1999 by which they were bound and as the decisions of the Delhi High Court and the AFT.
"These SSC officers cannot be left in the lurch and the injustice meted to them by lost years of service and the deprivation of retiral entitlements must be rectified," it said.
The top court said that to deny substantive relief to the SSC officers would result in a situation where a breach of duty on the part of the authorities to comply with binding legal norms would go unattended and "this would result in a serious miscarriage of justice to the SSC officers who have served the nation".
It said that all SSC women officers who were denied consideration for the grant of PCs on the ground that they were inducted prior to the issuance of the policy of 2008 and who are not presently in service shall be deemed, as a one-time measure, to have completed substantive pensionable service.
"Their pensionary benefits shall be computed and released on this basis. No arrears of salary shall be payable for the period after release from service," it said.
The bench said that as a one-time measure, all SSC women officers who were before the High Court and the AFT and who are not granted PCs shall be deemed to have completed substantive qualifying service for the grant of pension and shall be entitled to all consequential benefits.
The top court granted compensation of Rs 25 lakh each in addition to the pensionary benefits to Commander R Prasanna, Commander Puja Chhabra, Commander Saroj Kumar, Commander Sumita Balooni and Commander E Prasanna.