Delhi HC Upholds Constitutional Validity Of Agnipath Scheme, Says It Was Introduced In National interest

The Delhi High Court today (Feb 27) upheld the validity of the Centre'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 division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad dismissed a batch of petitions assailing the scheme, and said there was no reason to interfere with it.

"This court finds no reason to interfere with the scheme. All petitions are dismissed. We can conclude that the scheme was introduced in national interest," the Court said.

The court also dismissed petitions relating to recruitment process for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements while clarifying that such candidates do not have a right to seek recruitment. 

In December last year, the Delhi High Court had reserved its verdict on petitions concerning the recruitment processes.

One of the most far-reaching reforms in the armed forces, Agnipath scheme was unveiled in June last year outlining rules for military recruitment.

Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers between the ages of 17.5 and 21 years — who would be known as “Agniveers” — will be recruited into the three services for a period of four years on a short-term contractual basis.

After this period, 25% of the selected candidates will be absorbed into permanent positions.

The scheme’s introduction triggered protests in few states. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.

Several petitions were filed in High Courts across the country challenging the scheme as well as halt on the recruitment processes, applications for which were invited before Agnipath was announced. The Supreme Court later transferred all these matters to the Delhi High Court.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the Central government in the hearings related to the case, termed it as one of the biggest policy changes in defence recruitment. She informed the court that it going to be paradigm shift in the way the Armed Forces recruit personnel.

"More than 10 lakh aspirants have taken advantage of the two-year age relaxation given by us... A lot of things we cannot say on affidavit but we have acted in bona fide manner," the ASG submitted in the court.

((With inputs from PTI)