UPSC’s 92 Air Force Flying branch vacancies include two for women; 90 open to all genders
New Delhi
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Indian Air Force (IAF) to appoint a woman candidate to the Flying branch under the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy Examination 2023, after finding 20 vacancies left unfilled despite eligible women being available.
The UPSC had advertised 92 vacancies for the Air Force Flying branch, including two reserved for women. The court ruled that the remaining 90 vacancies were open to all candidates, not exclusively for men, citing the Supreme Court’s stance on gender neutrality in recruitment. Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla said interpreting vacancies in a gender-skewed manner is impermissible.
The petitioning candidate had cleared all selection stages and possessed the mandatory “fit to fly” certificate. Her advocate argued that while she ranked seventh on the women’s merit list, she was denied appointment as only two seats were reserved for women. Meanwhile, 70 of the 90 general vacancies were filled by men, leaving 20 seats unfilled, which the court said could be offered to eligible female candidates.
The Centre contended that unfilled vacancies would be compensated through other recruitment channels like AFCAT or CDS exams, but the court disagreed, noting the UPSC notification encouraged gender balance and the inclusion of women.
The bench observed, “We are no longer in times when discrimination could be made between male and female candidates for entry into the armed forces or elsewhere.” The notification did not specify 90 seats for men, preventing any gender-skewed interpretation. The ruling reinforces equal opportunity for women in IAF Flying branch recruitment and upholds gender-neutral principles in defence services selection.
