Chandigarh: Finally, Military Nursing Service (MNS) officers, who hold a rank similar to regular army officers, have been notified as ex-servicemen (ESM) after retirement. The ESM status will ensure they get all benefits that are entitled to other short service commissioned (SSC) officers of regular forces, especially quota in jobs in the civil services. The notification conferring ESM status on MNS officers was issued on Monday by the Centre’s department of personnel and training (DOPT). The new rules will be called the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Central Civil Services and Posts) Amendment Rules, 2026.
MNS is the only all-woman branch of the armed forces and was historically always treated as ESM, but an officer of Kendriya Sainik Board in 2019 issued a letter saying that they will not be treated as ESM. This resulted in chaos.Due to the non-grant of ESM status, MNS officers across the country struggled hard and even fought legal battles. Their main grievance was that due to their release from the forces on completion of SSC, they were not able to resettle in civil jobs by availing the benefits/quota of being ESM granted to other SSC officers from the army, navy, and air force.MNS is an integral part of the defence forces, and its women selected as nursing officers are granted short service commission upon their selection into the forces. MNS officers, who played a key role in wars and military operations, also participate in the Republic Day Parade in Delhi as part of the Indian Army’s all-woman officers’ contingent.Sources confirmed the notification was issued in the wake of a Supreme Court decision passed in April last year, in which the court favoured granting the status to MNS officers. The SC passed the order while upholding the decision of the Punjab and Haryana high court that also ordered in favour of ESM status for MNS officers.The issue cropped up first when a former MNS officer, Captain Gurpreet Kaur from Patiala in Punjab, cleared the examination for the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) in 2021, but her candidature was rejected on the ground that she was not an “ESM”. Aggrieved, she approached the HC, wherein she pointed out that MNS was an “Armed Force of the Union” under the statute and the Punjab ESM Rules covered short service officers released on completion of terms of engagement with gratuity under the definition of ESM.In Feb 2024, a division bench of the HC held that such officers would be entitled to ESM status. The HC judgment was, however, challenged in the SC by a serving PCS officer, Irwan Kour, a former officer of the Army Medical Corps, who submitted that MNS officers could not be treated as ESM, and if Captain Gurpreet Kaur was appointed to PCS, her appointment may get disturbed.In April 2025, the SC dismissed the appeal filed by Irwan Kour and upheld the right of MNS officers to be treated as ESM. The SC also held that MNS is an integral part of the military and the Armed Forces. The court recognised that Punjab caters to 7.7% strength of the Army despite the national population only being 2.3%, pointing out that if resettlement of veterans is ignored, talented youth may not be motivated to join the army.BOXIn duty since the Great WarTracing its saga, MNS was a part and parcel of the country’s war efforts since its inception. During WWI, along with British nurses, the Indian Army nurses served in Flanders, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East, and onboard hospital ships. More than 200 nurses died in active service. During WWII, 15 army nurses lost their lives onboard ship SS Kuala in Singapore. MNS officers played a pivotal role in caring for the sick and wounded during peace and in various operations over the years. They also were part of medical teams in UN missions and other humanitarian endeavours. MSID:: 128159675 413 |
