The march of women in India’s armed forces has been less a steady parade than a courtroom relay, with the baton repeatedly passed to the Supreme Court. It is to the Court’s credit—and the services’ discomfort—that many of the rights women officers now enjoy have been judicially secured rather than institutionally granted. The latest verdict, holding that women serving as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers cannot be denied Permanent Commission (PC) across the Army, Navy and Air Force, is yet another milestone in this reluctant evolution, marking a decisive shift toward substantive equality in military careers. One can only wish the armed forces had anticipated the inevitability of reform and initiated these changes themselves, especially........

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