SC grants pensionary benefits to SSC Women Officers of IAF not considered for Permanent Commission
New Delhi, Nov 16: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force to consider granting Permanent Commission (PC) to 32 retired women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers based on their suitability with the purpose of giving them pensionary benefits.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices Hima Kohli and J B Pardiwala, however, refused to order their reinstatement on the ground that they were released from service way back between 2006 and 2009.
"Reinstatement cannot be a viable option keeping in mind the requirement related to exigencies of serving the nation," it said in the order.
The bench said the women IAF officers, if found eligible by the IAF for grant of permanent commission, will be entitled to grant of one-time pensionary benefit from the date when they would have completed 20 years in service if it had continued.
The CJI appreciated the IAF for taking a "fair approach" and told senior lawyer R Balasubramanian, appearing for the Centre and the Air Force, to convey the appreciation to the IAF chief and the government.
While granting relief to the former women IAF SSC officers, the bench said they had joined the services during 1993-1998 under the legitimate expectation in pursuance of the policy decision that they will be considered for grant of permanent commission after five years.
However, instead of being considered for the permanent service commission, they were granted extensions of six and four years successively and, before being released from service, finally during 2006 to 2009.
"These women SSC officers had the legitimate expectation of being granted an opportunity to claim permanent commission in terms of prevailing policy," it said.
"We are of the view that these women SSC officers be considered for grant of pensionary benefits," the bench said while exercising its extraordinary power under article 142 of the Constitution for doing complete justice in any matter pending before it.
The bench said the IAF would examine the suitability of these retired officers and consider granting pensionary benefits once they are found eligible for grant of permanent commission as per the HR (Human Resources) policy.
"The cases of the appellants will be evaluated on the basis of the HR Policy of November, 2010," the court said.
It, however, made clear that these officers shall not be entitled to arrears of salary .
"Arrears of pension will be given with effect from the date when the officers will be completing 20 years of deemed services," it said.
The bench, meanwhile, asked the IAF to consider the similar plea of two widow officers "sympathetically".
In a landmark verdict on February 17, 2020, the top court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission, rejecting the Centre's stand on their "physiological limitations" as being based on "sex stereotypes" and "gender discrimination against women".
The apex court had directed that within three months all serving SSC women officers have to be considered for permanent commission irrespective of them having completed 14 years or, as the case may be, 20 years of service.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
