Wing Commander Pooja Thakur, who presented Guard of Honour to US President Barack Obama during his visit to India last year, has moved the Armed Forces Tribunal here claiming she was denied permanent commission by the IAF. The IAF has denied the contention and said the officer had refused to go in for permanent commission and asked for it days before her retirement last month.
As per the Government policy for granting permanent commission to Short Service Commission (SSC) officers, the officer concerned has to give his or her option at least one year before the SSC tenure ends. The IAF said Thakur sought permanent commission days before her retirement on June 16 this year. Therefore, her application could not be entertained, officials said. The Tribunal has admitted the matter and sought IAF’s response,
Rejecting claims of gender bias, IAF officials said the IAF has no separate manual for male and female officers while considering granting permanent commission. Elaborating upon this aspect, they said permanent commission is not something which is doled out. They underlined that an officer, man or woman, has to first willingly seek for permanent commission and then has to meet the laid down criteria.
Giving details of Thakur’s case, they said she was commissioned into Administration branch of IAF in 2001. After a mandatory stint of five years, her service was extended for another six years. Following the Delhi High Court’s directions in 2011 and change in Government policy on permanent commission to women officers, IAF sought her willingness for it in later 2011 as she was to retire the next year.
The woman officer, however, did not opt for permanent commission and instead went for extension of service for another four years. Incidentally, 10 women officers of her batch were selected for permanent commission, officials said.
Interestingly, in July 2015, for undisclosed reasons, Thakur put in an application for premature separation from the force and was due to retire in January this year. However, in December last year, she changed her mind and said she wanted to continue till her retirement in June 2016, a request which was accepted by the IAF.
Thakur, who is at present undergoing pre-release course at a private management institute in Gurgaon, applied for permanent commission 10 days prior to her retirement. Officials said as of now, she has retired from service.