The Indian Government has issued a formal Government Sanction Letter to grant Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Indian Army.

The letter, written by the Ministry of Defense on Thursday, permits the grant of commissions to women across the entire Indian Army. A permanent commission allows the officers to work until they retire. Before this, the entry of women in the Indian Army has only been through the Short Service Commission (SSC). Unlike men, women were not allowed to work beyond a period of 14 years.

A group of women filed the first case against the short service rule in 2003 in Delhi High Court. Earlier this year, in a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India, the rule was thrown out. The country’s top court ruled in February that women officers of the Indian Army should be considered for the grant of a Permanent Commission regardless of their years of service. Earlier this month, the government had filed an application seeking a six month extension for implementation of the verdict, citing COVID 19. The court dismissed the application and directed the government to implement the verdict within a month. The SSC women officers will now be able to extend their tenure.

Colonel Aman Anand, the Press Release Officer of the Indian Army, said that this sanction would be “paving the way for empowering women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organization.” He further said, “the Indian Army is committed to providing equal opportunities to all personnel including women officers to serve the Nation.”