Supreme Court Says Women Can Appear For NDA Exam

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that prohibiting women from taking the National Defence Academy (NDA) admission exam slated for September 5 was gender discrimination.

However, in an interim order, a Bench led by Justice SK Kaul indicated that the consequences would be reliant on the petition's conclusion.

It also ordered the Union Public Service Commission to provide adequate notification and publicise its order in accordance with its directive. The court questioned why the government was continuing in this direction even after its 2020 decisions awarding permanent commissions in the Army and Navy to women.

"If you are introducing women in the Army, then why do you create a bar in the NDA," the Bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, adding that the government shouldn't constantly seek judicial intervention.

When Bhati noted the Army had given several women Permanent Commissions, the Bench said, "You had kept on opposing it till the orders were passed by this court. You didn’t do anything on your own. The Navy and Air Force were more forthcoming, while the Army seems to have some kind of bias."

Bhati said there were numerous means of entrance into the Army, including the NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers Training Academy (OTA), and women may come into the military through OTA and IMA.

"Why is it not through the NDA? Is co-education a problem?" the Bench asked.

The Bench noted the policy decision was founded on gender discrimination because Bhati said it was a policy decision that women were not allowed in the NDA.