Delhi High Court dismisses pleas challenging Agnipath scheme

The Delhi High Court on Monday, February 27 dismissed pleas challenging the Union government’s Agnipath scheme, saying that it was introduced in the national interest and to make sure that the armed forces are well-equipped. Batches of petitions were filed challenging the scheme, its recruitment process, and appointment of candidates.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said: “All petitions challenging Agnipath scheme are dismissed.” The bench, by upholding the constitutional validity of the scheme for entry into the Indian Armed Forces, dismissed 23 petitions. The maximum number of petitions counting to 18 sought appointment as per previous recruitment scheme and the rest five challenged the scheme.

The court said that it finds no reason to interfere with the scheme. A copy of a detailed order is awaited. The scheme, meant to recruit youth into the Indian Army for four years, will only keep 25% of the selected candidates after this period. The same bench had reserved its order on December 15, 2022.

The court on December 14 had questioned the Union government’s decision for a different pay scale for Agniveers and regular soldiers in the Army if their scope of work is the same. Representing the Union government, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati had said that Agniveer is a different cadre from the regular one.