Delhi high court dismisses petitions challenging Agnipath scheme, says introduced in ‘national interest’ | India News

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed a batch of petitions challenging Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment in armed forces.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said there was no reason to interfere with the scheme.
The court contended “the said scheme was introduced in national interest and to ensure that armed forces are better equipped”.

The court had reserved its verdict on the batch of pleas on December 15 last year.
In July, the Supreme Court asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, and Uttarakhand to transfer the pleas against the scheme to the Delhi high court or keep them pending till a decision is delivered.
In August, the Delhi high court said it would hear the matter instead of passing an interim order.
The Union government told the court in October that recruitment in the military is an essential sovereign function keeping national security in mind.
Agnipath scheme
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 unveiled, protests erupted in several states against the scheme.
Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
(With inputs from agencies)