New Delhi: Tattoo-sporting candidates cannot be guaranteed a job in the Indian Air Force (IAF). This stipulation has now got judicial stamp with the Delhi High Court upholding the decision of the Air Force cancelling a man’s appointment for the post of airman as he had carved a permanent tattoo on the external side of his forearm.
The Air Force grants relaxation and permits certain kind of tattoos, including in case of tribals, which are as per customs and traditions.
A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Rekha Palli, however, noted the tattoo drawn on the body of the candidate was not in conformity with the relaxation granted by the force and he had also failed to submit a photograph of his tattoo at the time of submitting his application, as prescribed in the advertisement issued by the IAF. The counsel for the IAF clarified that only a permanent body tattoo on the inner face of fore arms (inside of elbow to the wrist), the back (dorsal) part of the hand /reverse side of palm and in the case of tribals with tattoos, which are as per custom and traditions of their tribes, were permitted.
However, the right to decide on the acceptability or unacceptability of the individual lies with the selection committee, he said. The man challenged the Armed force’s decision to cancel his appointment for the post, saying he had duly declared that he had a body tattoo, in terms of a certificate given by him when a call letter was issued to him and it is not as if he had concealed anything.
The bench, however, dismissed his petition, saying “tattoos engraved on the body of the petitioner are not in conformity with the relaxation granted in the advertisement.”
