Delhi High Court to hear batch of pleas challenging Centre`s Agnipath scheme on August 25

Agnipath Scheme: The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that as regards other similar petitions challenging Agnipath Scheme pending in other various High Courts, the concerned HCs should either give an option to the petitioners to either have their petitions transferred to the Delhi HC or to keep their petitions pending with liberty to petitioners to intervene in Delhi HC.

New Delhi: After the Supreme Court on Tuesday transferred various pleas related to Agnipath Scheme to Delhi High Court, the Delhi HC on Wednesday fixed the date to August 25, 2022 to hear all the petitions challenging Agnipath Scheme. The Bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Wednesday says following SC direction issued for Delhi HC, we will examine all the related matter on August 25, 2022. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Wednesday appeared for the Centre, apprised the Delhi High Court about the SC direction issues yesterday and read out the related order.  

The Supreme Court also clarified that as regards other similar petitions challenging Agnipath Scheme pending in other various High Courts, the concerned HCs should either give an option to the petitioners to either have their petitions transferred to the Delhi HC or to keep their petitions pending with liberty to petitioners to intervene in Delhi HC. 

The top court also requested Delhi HC to take up the matter and dispose of it expeditiously. The court on Tuesday noted a consolidated chart of HC cases presented by SG Tushar Mehta. High Courts of Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand are hearing matters connected to the scheme.

The SC directions come after hearing advocates Kumud Lata Das and M L Sharma for petitioners and SG Tushar Mehta for respondents. The Central government had also filed a caveat application in the Supreme Court urging it to hear the government in the petitions filed before the top court challenging the Agnipath recruitment scheme for defence forces.

Advocate Harsh Ajay Singh has filed a PIL seeking directions to the Centre to reconsider its Agnipath recruitment scheme for armed forces. The plea said the announcement of the scheme has caused nationwide protests in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and various other states due to the short-term duration of the scheme in the Indian Army for four years coupled with future uncertainties of the trained `Agniveers`.

The advocate has also sought a stay in the implementation of the scheme from June 24, 2022. Advocate ML Sharma also filed the PIL seeking quashing of the Centre`s notification for the Agnipath scheme saying the scheme is "illegal and unconstitutional".

The Union Cabinet on June 14 approved a recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the three services of the Armed Forces called Agnipath and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers. Agnipath allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years. The Agnipath Scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces.