The apex court’s Bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Aravind Kumar directed the defence services to allow more number of women candidates to participate in the selection process.

Several women candidates, including those from Punjab, had initially moved various high courts against the move of the government to reserve 90 per cent vacancies in the ADC for men. The matter reached the SC thereafter.

The Bench observed that whereas male candidates who had rank till 2,394 were permitted to participate in the selection process, in so far as women candidates are concerned, the cut-off rank is 235. The Union Government had averred that only 10 per cent seats were reserved for women candidates in the selection process on the grounds of exigencies peculiar to the defence services.

“Prima facie, we find that depriving highly meritorious women candidates from participating in the selection process is putting the clock in reverse direction. Leave aside giving preferential treatment to women as envisaged under Article 15 of the Constitution of India, the stand of the respondent (Union of India) is violative of Article 14, in as much as it deprives a meritorious women to compete and permits much less meritorious men to participate in the selection process,”

The Bench was hearing an SLP filed against an order of the Delhi HC that had vacated a “status quo” ordered by it earlier on the ADC recruitment results on account on gender discrimination averred by the candidates. While ordering the continuance of the status quo initially, the SC has now also ordered the conduct of the interviews of the left-out candidates who had petitioned the HC.

“We find that an anomalous situation has arisen due to such a stand. Whereas a male candidate who is 10 times less meritorious than a woman candidate is permitted to appear in the selection process, a woman candidate who is 10 times meritorious than a male candidate is deprived from participating in it,” the Bench said.