‘You Speak Of ‘Nari Shakti’, Now Show It Here’: SC On ICG

The Supreme Court has reprimanded the Centre for its patriarchal approach towards women officers in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), highlighting the denial of permanent commission to women officers in the ICG.

‘You Speak Of ‘Nari Shakti’, Now Show It Here’: SC On ICG

The Supreme Court has reprimanded the Centre for its patriarchal approach towards women officers in the ICG, highlighting the denial of permanent commission to women officers in the ICG. The court questioned why women officers in the ICG are not treated equally to their male counterparts like in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

“You speak of ‘nari shakti’ (woman power). Now show it here. You are in the deep end of the sea in this matter. You must come up with a policy which treats women fairly,” the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. “I don’t think the ICG can say they can fall out of line when the Army and Navy have done it all. You all have not read the Babita Punia judgment so far,” the bench remarked.

Questioning the rationale behind limiting permanent commissions for women to 10%, the Supreme Court challenged the notion of viewing women as lesser beings and urged the ICG to adopt practices similar to the Indian Navy, which grants permanent commission to women.

Priyanka Tyagi, a woman officer with a 14-year stint as a pilot in the ICG, was denied permanent entry despite her outstanding service record, which includes saving more than 300 lives at sea. Tyagi was part of the first-ever all-women crew on a Dornier aircraft for maritime patrolling in the eastern region in 2016. In her plea, the woman officer said, “As of the present date, the Petitioner has the highest-flying hours as per her seniority in all the forces, including male and female, i.e., 4500 hours on the Dornier Aircraft and has heroically saved more than 300 lives at sea.” Her plea further detailed how the board, which was to decide on granting a Permanent Commission to the SSA women officers in the Indian Coast Guard, was cancelled.