Apex Court of India struck down Centre’s plea to allow women in the NDA exam from 2022

Apex Court of India struck down Centre’s plea to allow women in the NDA exam from 2022; Entry of Women Can't be Postponed, Armed Forces Can Handle Emergency. The Centre had asked time till May 2022 to allow women to take the NDA entrance, but the SC denied its plea.

The government had also said there were "no parallel (physical) standards for women candidates", so these were being formulated; "... the issue needs detailed analysis, including expert inputs to maintain operational readiness." Gynaecologists, sports medicine experts and counsellors, nursing staff and female attendants would also need to be in place for women cadets.

The supreme court of India today said that Women should be allowed to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exams this year, rejecting the government's request to defer the move until next year to establish a new system. "We gave hope to the girls. We cannot deny them that hope now," said the judges.

The court said, "This won't send the right signal to women after having given them the aspiration.. Let's begin from this year."

A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said it will be difficult to accept the prayer “in view of the aspirations of the candidates willing to take the exam”. The bench also comprising Justice B R Gavai said that the “Armed Forces have seen far emergent situations both at the border and in the country” and the court is “sure such training will come handy here.”

Stating the armed forces were best suited to deal with “emergencies”, the apex court said, “We don't want women to be denied their right. It Needs to be done by the defence department in collaboration with UPSC.”