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The senior counsel submitted that the officer had served over 13.5 years in service but was impacted by a 2019 policy that denied her permanent commission and forced her to conclude her service after a month.

The bench ordered that the Air Force officer should not to be released from service till further orders.

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The Supreme Court asked Centre and IAF to retain Wing Commander Nikita Pandey

She claimed discrimination over being denied a permanent commission

The court noted uncertainty in service is detrimental to armed forces officers

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force not to release from service a woman officer, who was part of Operation Balakot and Operation Sindoor but was denied permanent commission.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh sought responses from the Centre and the IAF on the plea of Wing Commander Nikita Pandey who claimed discrimination for being denied permanent commission.

The bench called IAF a professional force and said the uncertainty on service was not good for such officers.

“Our Air Force is one of the best organisations in the world. Officers are very commendable. Quality of coordination they have exhibited, I think it’s unparalleled. Therefore, we always salute them. They are a big asset for the nation. They are the nation, in a way. Because of them, we are able to sleep at night,” Justice Kant said.

The bench noted a “tough life” for Short Service Commission (SSC) officers began following their recruitment, which called for some incentive after 10 or 15 years to grant them permanent commission.

“That sense of uncertainty may not be good for the Armed Forces. It’s a layman’s suggestion, because we are not experts. On minimum benchmarks, there can’t be a compromise,” Justice Kant said.

Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the officer, said her client was an expert fighter controller, who participated as an expert in the Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS), which were deployed in Operation Sindoor and Operation Balakot.

The senior counsel submitted that the officer had served over 13.5 years in service but was impacted by a 2019 policy that denied her permanent commission and forced her to conclude her service after a month.

The officer ranked second in the merit list of expert air fighter controllers in the country, Guruswamy added.

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre and the IAF, the reason for not granting the officer permanent commission.

Ms Bhati revealed she belonged to an armed forces background herself, therefore, being receptive of the predicament of such officers but argued that the petitioner was found unfit by the selection board.

She said the officer directly moved the apex court without filing any representation and informed the bench that a second selection board would be considering her case.

The bench ordered Pandey not to be released from service till further orders and posted the hearing on August 6.

The top court, however, said no equity would be created in her favour and left open all the contentions in the case.

Ms Bhati had no objections in the officers continuing in service as most of the officers in the armed forces were brilliant officers but ultimate question related to the comparative merit and the need for keeping the forces young.

She said a “steep pyramidal structure” was followed by IAF which requires that certain officers go out of the service after serving 14 years and new officers come in their place.

Justice Kant told Ms Bhati that armed forces should have the capacity to accommodate all SSC officers in the permanent commission, highlighting women officers performed exceedingly well.

“Due to the lack of permanent commission for women officers after a long duration, Short Service Commission recruitment are taking place. That is the reason that inter se competition arises after 10, 12 and 15 years. You can have a policy of taking that many SCC officers, who can be accommodated in the Permanent Commission, if they are found suitable. If you have 100 SCC officers, you should have the capacity to take 100 of them to the permanent commission,” the judge said.

Ms Bhati replied that normally out of 100 officers considered for the permanent commission, almost 90-95 per cent officers were found fit but some lost out only on account of comparative merit.

“There are a limited number of posts, it’s a very steep pyramid structure,” she said. 

The competition in the Indian cricketing spectrum unarguably remains the toughest of all. While new heroes are unearthed every single year, very few manage to hold on to the upper echelon of Indian cricket. One such story is Priyank Panchal‘s, a veteran of 127 FC matches, 97 List-A games, and 59 T20s. Despite being one of the most consistent batters in the domestic spectrum, Priyank couldn’t succeed in making his debut for the Indian team across any of the three formats. On Monday, he decided to hang up his boots from First Class Cricket.

Priyank came close to making his debut for India on the South Africa tour in 2021-22 but couldn’t get the baggy blue cap. Admitting that ‘it isn’t going to happen anymore’, the batter settled with whatever his cricketing fate had to offer so far.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Priyank admitted that the topic of retirement was on his mind for a while.

“For a long time, it was in my mind that I should retire. Because, when I started playing cricket, there was a driving force that I wanted to play for India. Along with the driving force, there was discipline and dedication. But after a point, I got practical, I didn’t think that it was possible. I tried my best. I mean, I played for India A, and I played in the Ranji Trophy. But I realised it’s time now. It’s not going to happen anymore,” he said.

A family of seven, including three children, allegedly died by suicide in a parked car in Haryana’s Panchkula last night. The family was under heavy debt and likely made a suicide pact, early investigations suggest.

The car, parked outside a house, had raised suspicion among local residents. When, to their shock, they found bodies inside the car, they rushed them to the hospital and informed the police.

While six were inside the car, one man sitting outside collapsed after declaring he would die soon.

On Monday night, Praveen Mittal, 42, and family, residents of Dehradun, had attended a religious programme at Bageshwar Dham. Praveen Mittal, his elderly parents, wife and three young children – two girls and a boy – were on their way back home when late at night, the family allegedly consumed poison and died by suicide.

A resident of the neighbourhood was on a walk when he spotted the car with an Uttarakhand number plate parked behind his car. A man, believed to be Praveen Mittal, was sitting by the car, on the pavement.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the “execution model” to implement a mega project to indigenously develop a fifth generation deep penetration advanced medium combat aircraft for the Indian Air force India has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop the medium weight deep penetration fighter jet with advanced stealth features to bolster its air power capability.

The defence ministry said on Tuesday that Mr Singh has approved the “Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model.” “In a significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model,” it said.

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is set to execute the programme through Industry partnership.

The defence ministry said the “Execution Model” approach provides equal opportunities to both private and public sectors on competitive basis.

“They can bid either independently or as joint venture or as consortia. The entity/bidder should be an Indian company compliant with the laws and regulations of the country,” it said in a statement.

“This is an important step towards harnessing the indigenous expertise, capability and capacity to develop the AMCA prototype, which will be a major milestone towards Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the aerospace sector,” it said.

The cabinet committee on security led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given in-principle approval to the fighter jet programme last year.

The initial development cost of the project has been estimated at around Rs 15,000 crore.

The IAF has been pushing for the AMCA project in view of its long-term requirement.

India’s confidence in the development of the AMCA saw a significant jump after the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.

The key factor bringing the countries together is Gaza, devastated in the aftermath of Israel’s brutal counterstrike to the Hamas attacks in October 2023

Iran and Pakistan are mending relations after airstrikes a year ago, driven by shared concerns over Gaza. PM Shehbaz Sharif emphasized peace talks with India, while Iran’s Khamenei praised Pakistan’s stance on Palestine, urging Muslim unity amid conflicts.

A year after they conducted airstrikes in each other’s territory, Iran and Pakistan appear to be burying the hatchet as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir visit Tehran and meet the Iranian leadership.

The key factor bringing the countries together is Gaza, devastated in the aftermath of Israel’s brutal counterstrike to the Hamas attacks in October 2023. While Pakistan brought up its recent conflict with India and Kashmir, Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in public remarks, has only said Iran hopes disputes between India and Pakistan are resolved.

The Gaza Unity Factor

According to a report in The Tehran Times, Khamenei has acknowledged that Pakistan has not joined the countries normalising ties with Israel in “a blatant betrayal of the Palestinian cause” despite Western pressure. “While there have been temptations for Islamic countries to engage with the Zionist regime in recent years, Pakistan has never succumbed to these temptations,” he said during a meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister. He said the Palestine issue is the foremost concern of the Islamic world. “The situation in Gaza has reached a point where ordinary people in Europe and the United States are protesting their governments, yet unfortunately, some Islamic governments stand alongside the Zionist regime under these circumstances,” he said.

The Dawn reported that Israeli actions have caused untold misery for the people of Gaza. “It is high time that the international community used its influence to bring a lasting ceasefire in Palestine. Pakistan stands by its brothers and sisters in Iran to promote peace, progress and prosperity,” he said.

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