New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- The Supreme Court has frowned upon the 'arbitrariness' in the consideration of 'criteria appointment' for Short Service Commission (SSC) women Army officers seeking permanent commission as compared to their male counterparts.

A 'criteria appointment' means an officer given command of a post in a difficult and hostile area or operation.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh, while hearing a plea of 13 women Army officers challenging the denial of permanent commission to them, questioned how there can be two parameters for male and female officers, who undergo the same training and postings.

"How can there be two criteria based on gender? Is there a different format for evaluating SSC wo...