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Wg. Cdr. A.U. Tayyaba (Retd.) & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1206Decided 16 Nov 2022
Civil Appeal Nos.79-82 of 2012
Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud · Hima Kohli · J.B. Pardiwala

Background

The appellants were women officers who joined the Indian Air Force as Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) between 1993 and 1998, on the representation that they would be considered for Permanent Commission (PC) after five years, subject to vacancy and suitability, but were instead given only extensions and never granted PC, while similarly-placed officers benefited from the landmark Delhi High Court "Babita Puniya" judgment (2010) which required women SSCOs to be considered for PC on par with men. The appellants had been released from service before the Babita Puniya judgment and had not filed their own writ petitions at that time, so when they later challenged the Air Force's implementation of that judgment, the Delhi High Court held they fell outside its benefit. They appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the benefit of the Babita Puniya directions was, by its own terms and by this Court's earlier ruling in Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya (2020), confined to officers who were either still serving or who had filed petitions before the High Court and retired during the pendency of proceedings: the appellants, having been released before the judgment and without any pending petition, did not strictly fall within this category. However, the Court found the appellants had a genuine "legitimate expectation" of consideration for PC based on the 1991 recruitment policy circular and advertisements under which they joined, and that reinstating them after so many years was not practical. Invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice and remedy past gender discrimination, the Court directed that these officers be considered for one-time pensionary benefits (not reinstatement or salary arrears) based on the 2010 Human Resources Policy, with pension arrears payable from the date they would have completed 20 years' service, and directed sympathetic consideration for a few officers who had narrowly missed the qualifying score.

Lesson Learnt

Even where a person falls just outside the technical scope of a court's earlier relief, the Supreme Court can use its Article 142 power to fashion equitable, "complete justice" remedies (here, granting pensionary benefits rather than reinstatement) to correct historical institutional gender discrimination, balancing fairness to the individual against practical realities like the passage of time.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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