Delhi HC clears way for women to join Territorial Army

Court said that any act that bars or discriminates women in the recruitment transgresses the fundamental rights of equality provided under the Constitution

IMAGE REPRESENTATIONAL: PTI/ FILE

New Delhi: Women are now eligible to serve in the Territorial Army as the Delhi High Court on Friday said that any provision of any Act that bars or discriminates women in the recruitment transgresses the fundamental rights of equality provided under the Constitution. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar gave the go ahead to the recruitment of women in the TA, the second line of defence after the regular Army, saying the restriction is "neither reasonable nor rational". "It is declared that 'any person' mentioned in section 6 of the Territorial Army Act, 1948 includes both males as well as females," said the court, adding that government has "failed to show any decision of policy, let alone binding policy, enabling them to deny opportunity to the women to serve in all units of the TA". ALSO READ: New Rs. 10 banknotes introduced by RBI in Chocolate Brown colour "No rationale has been offered to justify or sustain the action of the respondents (government) enforcing a bar against recruitment of women through their advertisements," said the order. Quashing advertisements issued in the year 2015 and 2016 inviting application from men only for joining TA, the bench said: "The impugned advertisements to the extent they exclude women from appointment to the Territorial Army and the claimed policy in this regard are ultra vires of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India and are hereby quashed." It added that these advertisements imposing a blanket bar on appointment of women to both departmental and non-departmental battalions of the TA "without any credible, reasonable or compelling justification for imposing such restrictions". TA comprises volunteers who get military training in order to be mobilised for the country's defence in case of an emergency. It is part of the regular Indian army and its present declared role is to relieve the regular army from static duties and assist the civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations when life of communities is affected or the security of the country is threatened as well as to provide units for the regular army as and when required. The court's order came on a PIL filed by petitioner Kush Kalra, who alleged institutionalised discrimination against women for not being recruited in the TA. Kalra had contended that the government has a duty to ensure that there is no discrimination practiced by anyone in the country and non-recruitment of female candidates who are gainfully employed is against the spirit of the Constitution. The bench in its order also stated there is not an iota of empirical or statistical data or any scientific study or analysis produced by the government to justify such policy prohibiting recruitment of women as manifested by the impugned advertisement.