Delhi High Court dismiss pleas challenging Agnipath scheme for recruitment in armed forces

The Supreme  Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the Agnipath Scheme pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep it pending till a decision is delivered if the petitioners before it so desire.

The Delhi High Court on Monday (february 27) dismissed pleas challenging the central government's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces, saying it was made in national interest and to ensure that the armed forces are better equipped.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said there was no reason to interfere with the scheme. 

The court had reserved its verdict on the batch of pleas on December 15 last year. The Agnipath scheme, unveiled on June 14, 2022, lays out rules for the recruitment of youth in the armed forces.

According to these rules, those between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age are eligible to apply and they would be inducted for a four-year tenure. The scheme allows 25 per cent of them to be granted regular service subsequently.

After the scheme was introduced, protests erupted in several states against the scheme. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.

The Supreme  Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the Agnipath Scheme pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep it pending till a decision is delivered if the petitioners before it so desire.

In August, a division bench declined to stop the Agnipath Scheme and granted them time to file its reply to a bunch of pleas challenging the defence recruitment scheme of the government. The court had said that it would finally hear the matter, instead of passing an interim order.

In October 2022, the Centre told the Delhi High Court that recruitment in the army is an essential sovereign function carried out by the government keeping national security in mind.