The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld the validity of the federal government-introduced Agnipath military recruitment scheme, stating that it was being introduced in the national interest to ensure that the armed forces were better equipped.
The verdict was announced by the bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice Subramonium Prasad.
The judges also dismissed petitions seeking the resumption of the previous recruitment scheme and enrolment in the armed forces under that arrangement, saying that the petitioners don’t have the right to do so.
“This court does not find any reason to interfere with the scheme. All petitions challenging the Agnipath scheme are dismissed,” the court stated.
The bench reserved its orders on December 15 last year while asking the petitioners to submit their written submissions by December 23.
All About the Agnipath Scheme and Uproar Over It
The Agnipath military recruitment scheme was announced by the federal government last year with the objective of enrolling young people below the officer rank for four years. The scheme, however, also has a provision to retain a quarter of the recruits for 15 more years.
The scheme, which aims to bring down the average age of service personnel, evoked protests in different parts of the country, and the opposition's criticism.
Later, in 2022, the government extended the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years.
Several petitions were filed challenging the validity of Agnipath. These included some of the petitions filed in the Supreme Court of India.
However, in July 2022 the country's top court transferred all the petitions to the Delhi High Court. The apex court also 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 the delivery of a decision.
While hearing the petitions in August 2022, the Delhi High Court refused to halt the scheme, and said it would hear the matter instead of passing an interim order.
The Narendra Modi government has been supporting the scheme, stressing that it was introduced in view of the “sea change” in global warfare, “to evolve a youthful, modern and futuristic fighting force” and to infuse young blood into the Army, who are mentally and physically fit.