ARSHNOOR KAUR & ANR. versus THE UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

ARSHNOOR KAUR & ANR. versus THE UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Once the Central Government has by notification under Section 12 Army Act, 1950 permitted women to join a particular corps/branch (here JAG), the executive cannot, by policy or administrative instruction, impose additional restrictions on the extent of induction or create a reserved category for men; the impugned notification allocating unequal vacancies (six for men, three for women) and separate treatment that results in meritorious women being denied selection violates Articles 14, 15 and 16 and Section 12 and amounts to indirect discrimination; a combined merit list should be published and the most meritorious candidates selected irrespective of sex, with the Court directing remedial...

Parties
Petitioner: Arshnoor Kaur; Petitioner: Astha Tyagi; Respondent: Union of India; Respondent: Himanshu Panwar
Jurisdiction
India
Judgment Date
11 August 2025
Procedural Posture
Writ Petition (civil) No. 772 of 2023 Under Article 32 / Final Judgment (decision) Dated 11 August 2025
Outcome
Writ petition disposed of
Legal Topics
Article 14, Article 15, Article 16, Article 33, Army Act, 1950 S.12, Gender Neutrality, Gender Equality, Indirect Discrimination, Merit List, Judge Advocate General (jag) Recruitment
Constitutional Law Military Law Administrative Law Equality Law Article 14 Article 15 Article 16 Article 33 +6 more

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Parties

Arshnoor Kaur

Petitioner

Astha Tyagi

Petitioner

Union of India

Respondent

Himanshu Panwar

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Writ Petition (civil) No. 772 of 2023 Under Article 32 / Final Judgment (decision) Dated 11 August 2025

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether after allowing induction of women under Section 12 Army Act, 1950 the executive can by policy or administrative instruction restrict the number/extent of women to be inducted in a corps/branch
  2. 2 Whether the Union of India’s recruitment policy for JAG is genuinely gender-neutral or gender-specific and whether separate merit lists and gender-based vacancy allocation cause indirect discrimination

Ratio Decidendi

Once the Central Government has by notification under Section 12 Army Act, 1950 permitted women to join a particular corps/branch (here JAG), the executive cannot, by policy or administrative instruction, impose additional restrictions on the extent of induction or create a reserved category for men; the impugned notification allocating unequal vacancies (six for men, three for women) and separate treatment that results in meritorious women being denied selection violates Articles 14, 15 and 16 and Section 12 and amounts to indirect discrimination; a combined merit list should be published and the most meritorious candidates selected irrespective of sex, with the Court directing remedial...

Court Disposition

Writ petition disposed of

Orders

  • Induct Petitioner No.1 (Arshnoor Kaur) in the next available training course for commissioning in the JAG Department of the Indian Army
  • The impugned notification insofar as it provided for only three vacancies for female candidates and six for male candidates is held violative of Articles 14, 15 and 16 and Section 12 of the Army Act, 1950