IAF Chief Confirms Priyanka Saxena’s Training, Reinstatement as Squadron Leader
Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh has said the force will comply with the Supreme Court’s order to re-induct former officer and war widow Priyanka Saxena, confirming that she will undergo medical checks and training before being reinstated as a Squadron Leader.
Speaking on Saturday, the Chief of the Air Staff said the service would follow the court’s directions and carry out the required steps before her return. “The (Supreme) court judgement has come. We have to follow the orders. We have been told to give her training after doing her medical test. She will be trained, especially the soldier part of the training. In her branch also, she will be trained. Thereafter, she will be reinstated as a Squadron Leader on the court orders as 11th year of her service. She will be a short-service commissioned officer,” he said.
Priyanka Saxena’s service and family background
Saxena was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in December 2003 as a Short Service Commissioned officer in the Logistics Branch. She completed her ten-year tenure and was released in December 2013 after choosing not to seek an extension or Permanent Commission because of family commitments, including support to her husband, a fighter pilot, and care of their child.
She later married Wing Commander Harshit Sinha of 51 Squadron, Srinagar. On 24 December 2021, Wing Commander Sinha was killed when his MiG-21 Bison crashed near Jaisalmer Airfield. The couple have two minor daughters.
How the case reached the Supreme Court
After her husband’s death, Saxena sought re-induction under policies for war widows, or Veer Naris, citing her earlier service in the Air Force. The request was not accepted, including on the ground that she had crossed the age limit of 35 years applicable to war-widow induction.
The Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, in orders dated 18 May 2023 and 2 July 2024, directed the government to consider framing a policy for women Short Service Commissioned officers who later become widows, but it did not grant Saxena personal relief.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana later set aside those orders and used its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to direct her re-induction. The court said the matter was a unique case that would not create a precedent.
In its observations, the court said Saxena was eligible on two counts — as a former Air Force officer and as the war widow of an Air Force officer — and that her past service “ought to have been given weightage.” The bench also said she did not need to undergo the fresh pre-commission training required for other war widows inducted on academic qualifications alone.
During the hearing, the court remarked that the contribution of her late husband to the nation could not be ignored.
Terms of her reinstatement
Under the Supreme Court’s order, Saxena must first clear the prescribed medical requirements and complete one year of refresher training in the next applicable course. During that period, she will be governed by the rules applicable to trainees.
After successful completion of the training, she will be reinstated as a Squadron Leader in the eleventh year of service, with her earlier service counted. She will continue as a Short Service Commissioned officer and receive a four-year extension in accordance with policy.
Her inter-se seniority will be fixed with her current peer group, and she will be considered for Permanent Commission and promotion under the rules applicable to that group.
The Air Chief’s remarks on Saturday confirmed that the Indian Air Force will move ahead on those terms, including the medical examination, branch and service training, and reinstatement as a Squadron Leader and Short Service Commissioned officer in the eleventh year of service.
