The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to extend pensionary benefits to all short service commissioned officers (SSCOs) of the army, navy, and air force who were denied permanent commission, citing departmental bias and flaws in the promotion and Annual Confidential Report (ACR) evaluation process.

The court further held that officers who remain eligible for PC status and have not exceeded the prescribed age limit should be granted PC status. The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh.

SSCOs serve a maximum tenure of 14 years, unlike PC officers, who typically serve up to 30 years. The government maintains that the grant of PC status is based on overall performance, suitability, and eligibility criteria, including provisions relating to women SSCOs.

The selection criteria and procedures for granting both short service commission and permanent commission had been challenged through a batch of petitions filed by several women SSCOs, along with some male officers.

"We find that the denial of PC to SSCWOs (short service commissioned women officers) was not merely the outcome of individual assessments, but the consequence of a systemic framework rooted in assumptions that entrenched disadvantages in career progression," the apex court said.

The court noted that the evaluation framework applied to these officers lacked the depth and rigour afforded to their male counterparts, adversely impacting their service records, comparative merit and career advancement.