Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed petitions challenging the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of Agniveers in the armed forces.
The petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Agnipath scheme were dismissed by the court. Pointing out that the scheme was a policy decision on the basis of national security, the High Court said: “This court finds no reason to interfere with the scheme… All petitions are dismissed.”
Court also dismissed petitions challenging the 2019 recruitment notification
The court further dismissed the petitions challenging the 2019 recruitment notification/advertisements saying that no promissory estoppel or legitimate expectation was created by the advertisements for recruitment and the petitioners cannot claim vested rights in the same.
“Keeping larger public interest in mind, the petitions are dismissed,” a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad added.
About 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 PTI
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