SC orders IAF to re-induct Priyanka Saxena, war widow and ex-officer

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to re-induct former Short Service Commission officer Priyanka Saxena into the Indian Air Force, holding that the existing rehabilitation framework for war widows does not address the situation of a woman who served in the force before becoming the widow of a serving officer.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted that Saxena qualified on two distinct grounds — as a former Air Force officer and as the war widow of an Air Force officer who died in a fighter aircraft crash.

Who is Priyanka Saxena?

Saxena joined the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad in January 2002 and was commissioned on 20 December 2003. She was posted to 41 Wing in Jaisalmer and married Wing Commander Harshit Sinha on 13 November 2006. She continued in service after her marriage and received a Commendation from the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command.

Her first daughter was born in May 2012. Citing family responsibilities and the need to support her husband, a fighter pilot, she did not seek an extension or permanent commission after her initial SSC tenure. Her second daughter was born in June 2016.

On 24 December 2021, Sinha — then Flight Commander of 51 Squadron "Sword Arms" in Srinagar — died in a MiG-21 Bison crash near Jaisalmer airfield.

Rejection and tribunal plea

Saxena sought reinstatement after her husband's death, citing her decade of service. The Centre rejected the request in April 2022. She then approached the Armed Forces Tribunal in New Delhi, seeking changes to policies so that women officers who had served in the armed forces and later became widows of defence personnel could be considered for re-induction.

The tribunal observed that officers who had completed 10 or 14 years of service formed a trained pool that could keep contributing to the armed forces, and that their re-induction could aid the rehabilitation of "Veer Naris". The Centre argued that no separate policy was needed and that Saxena was past the maximum age of 35 under a November 2017 policy letter. The tribunal dismissed her plea in July 2024.

Arguments before the Supreme Court

The Centre contended that Saxena had voluntarily left the Air Force after completing her SSC tenure and could not rely on the principles laid down in the Babita Puniya judgment. It also said the age relaxation available to widows was confined to eligibility for pre-commission training and did not extend to her case.

The court, however, found that her circumstances fell outside the existing rehabilitation framework. It held that her prior service as an SSC officer was relevant to her re-induction and noted that age relaxation had been extended in other contexts to SSC officers seeking entry into the civil services.

Observing that she was the widow of a fighter pilot who died in an aircraft crash and had two school-going minor daughters, the bench said her case deserved sympathetic consideration. It invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to grant relief, while directing that the order be treated as a one-off arrangement and not as a precedent.

What happens next

Saxena will undergo a one-year refresher training course from the next applicable batch and must meet the prescribed medical requirements. She will be re-inducted as a Squadron Leader in the eleventh year of service, with her earlier service counted. She will continue as a Short Service Commissioned officer with a four-year extension under the applicable policy.

Her inter-se seniority will be fixed alongside her current peer group, and any future consideration for permanent commission or promotion will be governed by the policies applicable to that group. The Supreme Court set aside the tribunal's orders, reiterating that its decision rested on the specific facts of her case.