The Supreme Court on Monday declared that women officers will be eligible for command posting in the Army. The top court today said that the government's policy decision of 2019 to grant Permanent Commission to women Army Officers would apply to all female officers, even those who have completed 14 years of service.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud rejected the government's argument of "physiological limitations and social norms" for denying them a permanent commission and command postings, saying it was against the concept of equality and smacked of gender bias.

The apex court's order said that women can now be full colonels and above in the Army Service Corps, Ordnance, Education Corps, Judge Advocate General, Engineers, Signals, Intelligence and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering adding that there does not appear to be any change in the position on women in combat roles. So they can still not be in the infantry, artillery and armoured corps.

According to the new order of the SC, a womanColonel can now command a battalion of 850 men and based on merit, can rise tothe rank of Brigadier, Major General, Lieutenant General and theoretically evenChief of Army Staff. But this would be virtually impossible without theexperience of commanding multiple combat formations, which continued to bedenied.

The order also said that from now onwards, womencould eventually be Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army, the IntelligenceChief of the Army, the head of Signals etc.