Delhi HC issues notice on plea alleging gender disparity in Territorial Army officer recruitment

New Delhi [india], September 23 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation filed by Kush Kalra alleging gender disparity in the recruitment of officers in the Territorial Army, with the petitioner challenging the allocation of disproportionately higher vacancies to male candidates.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard the submissions and listed the matter for further hearing on December 4, 2026.
The court has directed that a reply and rejoinder be filed in the matter.
Kalra, a National Youth Award recipient and author of several books, has alleged that the Territorial Army has continued to provide a substantially higher number of officer vacancies to men while restricting women candidates to a single vacancy in each recruitment cycle since 2022.
According to the petition, the Territorial Army advertised 12 vacancies for men against one for women in 2022, 18 against one in 2023, 18 against one in 2025 and 11 against one in 2026. The plea also alleges that separate merit lists have been maintained for male and female candidates.
The petitioner has challenged the alleged recruitment pattern as discriminatory and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The plea refers to the Delhi High Court’s January 2018 judgment in Kush Kalra v. Union of India, in which the court held that women could not be excluded from Territorial Army officer recruitment merely on the ground of gender. The court had held that the expression “any person” under Section 6 of the Territorial Army Act, 1948 includes both men and women.
The petitioner has alleged that although women were subsequently permitted to join the Territorial Army, the allocation of vacancies has continued to remain heavily skewed in favour of male candidates.
The plea also refers to a 2024 recruitment notification for Cyber Task, under which four vacancies were advertised for “Civilian Candidates (Male/Female)” without separate gender-wise allocation. According to the petitioner, this demonstrates that a common recruitment process without gender-based bifurcation can be followed.
The petition relies upon the Supreme Court’s August 11, 2025 judgment in Arshnoor Kaur & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors., as well as its earlier judgment in Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya, in support of its contention that women cannot be subjected to discriminatory restrictions in recruitment on the basis of gender.
The petitioner has stated that after the August 2025 Supreme Court judgment, he submitted a representation to the Secretary, Ministry of Defence on August 13, 2025, seeking corrective measures in Territorial Army recruitment. According to the plea, no remedial action was communicated to him.
The petition further states that the 2026 recruitment notification again provided 11 vacancies for male candidates against one vacancy for women, with separate merit lists. The entrance examination was conducted on July 12, 2026.
The petitioner has sought directions to the authorities to adopt a merit-based and gender-neutral recruitment process, including preparation of a common merit list for Territorial Army officer recruitment. (ANI)