Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 10: The Supreme Court rejected two appeals on Monday that sought to overturn a decision by the Delhi High Court supporting the Agnipath programme of the Centre for armed services recruitment.
The Indian Army and Air Force’s recruiting processes were halted when the “Agnipath” programme was announced in June 2022, and petitions were asking the Supreme Court for instructions to resume them. The applications were brought in opposition to the Delhi High Court’s decision maintaining the Agnipath Scheme, which made individuals between the ages of 17 and 22 eligible to apply for induction into the armed services for a four-year term.
Before the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, candidates who were chosen through recruitment procedures like rallies and physical and medical tests for the defence forces did not have a vested right to appointment, according to a bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha, and JB Pardiwala.
“Sorry, we would not like to interfere with the high court verdict. The high court had dealt with all the aspects”, it said, while dismissing separate pleas filed by Gopal Krishan and advocate ML Sharma.
However, the bench scheduled a hearing on April 17 on a third new petition regarding recruitment into the Indian Air Force (IAF) before the introduction of the Agnipath plan.
It requested that the Centre provide an answer to the third complaint regarding IAF recruiting. On March 27, the Supreme Court decided to hear arguments made in opposition to the Delhi High Court decision that sustained the Center’s programme for armed forces recruitment. The Agnipath initiative was created in the public interest with the admirable goal of safeguarding national security, the high court had stated on February 27.
