The Delhi High Court today described the Indian Army's practice of having only women in its nursing service as "antiquated"and asked the Centre why men cannot be inducted in that branch of the defence force.
"It is very antiquated, very stereotyped. How can you have an entire nursing branch without any males, especially in the Army," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.
The bench also issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence seeking its stand on a society's PIL alleging "blatant discrimination" in recruitment for the Indian Military Nursing Service.
In its plea, the Indian Professional Nurses Association, has said that there are several thousand males trained and qualified as professional nurses in India and their omission from nursing corps of the Army was "unjustifiable and unconstitutional inasmuch it deprives them of an avenue of employment and professional advancement".
"The said omission also deprives the military and the nation of a large pool of committed professionals," the petition, filed through advocates Amit George and Rishabh Dheer, said.
The PIL has challenged the provisions of the Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 and the Military Nursing Service (India) Rules 1944, to the extent they provide only for appointment of women.
"Blatant discrimination being carried out in light of the present scheme of the Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943, as well as the Military Nursing Services (India) Rules, 1944, omitting male nurses from within its scope," the association has said.
It has also contended that the Ordinance and the Rules "also perpetuate the stigmatization and ostracism of male nurses, by singling them out and making them feel unwanted".
It has said that such discrimination is contrary to the Constitutional scheme and is, therefore, "ex-facie unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary".
The petition has sought quashing of the words 'if a woman' in the Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance and to place male nurses at par with their female counterparts.
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