NDA Exam Can Be Taken By Women Too: Supreme Court

The apex judicial body of India, the Supreme Court, has reproached the Indian army for not allowing women to sit in the NDA (National Defence Academy) examination. This exam is conducted on a national level by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Before the Supreme Court’s remark, only male candidates were eligible to appear in the NDA exam.

A PIL (Public Interest Litigation) was filed against the centre’s approach towards the exclusion of female aspirants in the National Defence Academy and the Naval Academy examination. Hearing the PIL, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Kishan Kaul passed the order of permitting women to sit in these examinations.

Army’s NDA Policy ‘Gender Discriminatory’ Says SC Bench

Senior Advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharm told the bench that, ‘We have received the counter affidavit from the Union of India yesterday. In the counter affidavit, what they say is that it is purely a policy decision and should not be interfered with by the court and that because girls are not allowed to enter into NDA does not mean there is any difficulty in their progression or in their career.’

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul maintains, ‘You must begin with some tokenism. Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time! We, as an institution, must confess that we may not understand all intricate, technical aspects of your structure, you are better situated to appreciate that. But the broad principle of gender neutrality you must understand and adapt it in the backdrop of your peculiarities. Us passing blanket orders does not advance the cause.’

Therefore the Supreme Court bench criticised Indian army for not changing their ‘mindset’. This will be a landmark decision towards inclusivity of women in the Indian army. Now, every female aspirant can pursue her dream of joining National Defence Academy.