The Supreme Court on Tuesday demanded an explanation from the government as to why, despite its directives, the number of women accepted into the National Defence Academy (NDA) for the year 2022 has been limited to 19, the same as last year.
It ordered that the Centre record the total number of candidates, including women, who took the NDA examination 2021, as well as the admission tests for the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and Rashtriya Military School (RMS). A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M. M. Sundresh told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing the Centre, that the government would have to explain why the figure of 19 women was set for 2022 in the UPSC announcement.
The bench says, “The figure is the same as for the 2021 test. Last year, you said that it was due to infrastructure problems that the intake of women will be less. Now, again for the year 2022, you have proposed to take the same number of women candidates. Why have you fixed this figure? You have to explain this. 19 seats cannot be for all times to come. It was only an ad hoc measure.”
The top court granted the Centre three weeks to file an affidavit and two weeks to file a rejoinder and set a hearing date for March 6th.
At the outset, senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for petitioner Kush Kalra, said they have filed an additional affidavit stating that on November 14, 2021, the NDA exam was held and 8,009 candidates qualified for the Service Selection Board test as also medical tests, out of which 1,002 candidates were women and 7,007 men.
According to the information contained in the UPSC and government advertisements, the NDA will accept 400 cadets in the current NDA-II 2021 intake.
Mr. Sharma said, “Of these, 208 candidates, including 10 women, will go to the Army. The Navy will take in 42 candidates including 3 women, while the IAF will admit 120 candidates, of which 6 will be women. Thus, the total number of women to be inducted into the NDA in June 2022 is 19.”
According to Mr. Sharma, the number of women applicants to be recruited in January 2023 remains at 19, as evidenced by the reading of the Examination Notice dated December 22, 2021.
He claimed that the Centre had declared unequivocally in an affidavit dated September 20, 2021, that the requisite actions will be in place by May of this year (2022).
“Furthermore, for the first time, it is mentioned that the intake in the Naval Academy is for 30 male candidates only. The said restriction is arbitrary, he further said.
Mr. Sharma went on to say that continuing to limit female candidates to 19 even for the following year, 2023, and only allowing male candidates in the naval entry as per the Examination Notice dated December 22, 2021, is not only arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14, 15, 16, and 19 of the Indian Constitution, but also contradicts the Centre's position in court.
Ms. Bhati stated that the intake of female candidates into the NDA and other institutions is based on a variety of factors, including the need for defence personnel.
“The court may allow us some time to file a detailed affidavit in the matter and we will try to put forth the reasons behind the number of intake of women candidates.”
The bench acknowledged that not all fields in the defence forces are open to female candidates, and that there would not be an equal number of men and women in the near future, but that this will change over time.
In a first, on September 22, last year, the Supreme Court allowed female candidates to sit for the NDA entrance exam, which was scheduled to take place in November, declaring that their induction could not be postponed by a year as the Centre had requested.
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