Agnipath scheme: Supreme Court transfers pending PILs to Delhi high court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday transferred several petitions challenging government's Agnipath scheme to the Delhi high court.
The top court bunched the pending PILs against the recently introduced scheme and sent it to the Delhi high court for an early decision.
"We must have a considered view of a high court. The HC jurisdiction under Article 226 of Constitution must not lose significance," SC said in its hearing.
After transferring the three PILs pending before the top court challenging the Agnipath scheme to Delhi HC, the court said the other high courts where many PILs are pending would give an option to petitioners to either get their PILs transferred to Delhi high court or move the high court as an intervener.
A bench headed by Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and AS Bopanna also said that if any PIL is filed in future challenging Agnipath scheme, then they would also be given the same option by the concerned high courts.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the court that various petitions challenging the Agnipath scheme have been filed before various High Courts.
The high courts of Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand are hearing matters connected to these schemes.
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. Protests had erupted in several states against the scheme.
Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment this year.