The Delhi High Court has stayed the discharge of a group of Women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF), granting them interim relief in their legal challenge against the denial of Permanent Commission (PC).
Hearing the matter on Monday, the High Court directed that the officers continue in service until their petitions are taken up by the roster bench, which is scheduled to hear the case on 1 July 2026.
The officers have challenged the Indian Air Force’s decision denying them Permanent Commission, contending that their release orders were issued despite interim protection granted earlier by the Supreme Court.
During the proceedings, counsel for the petitioners argued that the Air Force acted hastily by issuing discharge orders while both the Delhi High Court and the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) were on vacation. The petitioners submitted that the release orders, issued on 3 June, came before the AFT could hear their applications.
The High Court questioned the timing of the petitions, following which the officers’ counsel stated that they had initially approached the Armed Forces Tribunal in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions. However, with the tribunal unable to hear the matter before the discharge orders were issued, they sought relief from the High Court.
The petitioners argued that the Supreme Court had earlier protected them from discharge while allowing them to pursue appropriate legal remedies before the AFT or the High Court. According to the plea, the apex court’s final judgment provided that interim protection against discharge would continue while legal proceedings remained pending.
The officers also contended that they belong to a separate category from those whose Permanent Commission applications were rejected in 2021. One petitioner stated that although she was commissioned in 2013, her application for Permanent Commission was considered only in 2023, after which it was rejected.
In addition to challenging their release orders, the petition also raises questions regarding certain provisions of the Indian Air Force’s 2019 Human Resource Policy governing the grant of Permanent Commission to women SSC officers.
The matter will now be heard by the Delhi High Court on 1 July, when the court is expected to consider the officers’ challenge to the denial of Permanent Commission and the legality of their discharge from service.
