NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre’s response to a petition by a woman short service appointment (SSA) officer of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seeking parity with male officers for permanent absorption, denied to women officers under the existing rules.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud issued notice on the petition filed by Commandant (junior grade) Priyanka Tyagi whose 14-year tenure as SSA officer ended on December 30 and was released from service after she was denied any interim relief by the Delhi high court on December 21, 2023.

“We will issue notice. Let us see what they (Centre and Indian Coast Guard) have to say,” said the bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Since the petitioner’s plea for permanent absorption has been pending with the Delhi high court since August last year, the bench also considered the option of expediting the high court proceeding.

Senior advocate Archana Pathak Dave, who appeared for Tyagi, argued that the high court should have relied on the top court’s previous decisions and stayed the release of the petitioner, the only woman in her batch to seek permanent absorption.

“I want to continue in service but they released me in December causing me great prejudice. So far no woman SSA officer has been granted permanent absorption as Coast Guard Rules do not permit woman SSAs to change to permanent entry scheme,” Dave said.

In the petition filed through advocate Siddhant Sharma, the officer who joined the Coast Guard as assistant commandant in December 2009, said there was no discrimination between women and male SSAs till November 2009.

On November 13, 2009, the government notified the Assistant Commandant Woman (General Duty) Short Service Recruitment Rules which said that “women officers shall not have the option to change over to permanent entry scheme.”

The petition relied on Supreme Court rulings that paved the way for equal opportunity for women short-service commission officers in the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force to be considered for permanent commission on par with their male counterparts and asked why the same rule did not extend to Coast Guard, an armed force since 1978.

During the 14 years that she was in the Coast Guard, Tyagi said she rose from an assistant commandant to deputy commandant and recently, commandant (JG). She was permitted to write the mid-career professional examination for promotion as commandant, and two of her superiors recommended her permanent absorption in 2021 when she completed 12 years. The move was, however, blocked by the defence ministry which said permanent absorption for women SSAs did not apply to the Coast Guard.

Tyagi said she made several attempts to persuade the government but received the final communication on May 26, 2023, informing her that she would be released from service on December 30. Tyagi approached the Delhi high court in August last year.

Her petition said the case was taken up by the high court but the Centre kept buying time claiming that a committee had been formed to study the feasibility of permanent induction of women SSAs. In November, the Centre cited the rules to turn down her request, leading the high court to decline her interim relief.

Tyagi said the government did not change the rules to allow women though the Coast Guard was short of officers and was recruiting retired short-service commission naval officers

as permanent duty officers in the Coast Guard. “It clearly displays discrimination against serving SSA officers of Coast Guard and depriving them of serving the force,” the petition said.

Tyagi, who was posted at the Daman airport air station prior to her release, said she was part of the first-ever all-women crew on Dornier aircraft deployed in 2016 in the Eastern Region for maritime patrolling as captain of the aircraft. She completed 13 months of flying training to qualify as a navigator.

“The petitioner has 4500 flying hours on Dornier aircraft, the highest flying hours as per her seniority in all the forces, including male and female, and has heroically saved over 300 lives at sea,” the petition said.