Those who have problem with Agneepath scheme should not join army: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court asked the petitioners challenging the Centre’s Agneepath scheme Agnipath Scheme Which of their rights has been violated? The court said that ‘Agneepath scheme is voluntary. Those who have a problem with this should not join the armed forces. The Delhi High Court said that the Agneepath scheme for recruitment has been prepared by experts from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Judges are not military experts.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramaniam Prasad said, ‘What is wrong with the plan? It is not mandatory. To be clear, we are not military experts. You (the petitioner) and I are not experts. It has been prepared by the experts of Army, Navy (Indian Navy) and Air Force (IAF) after great efforts.

The bench said, ‘The government has made a special policy. It is not compulsory, it is voluntary. You must prove that the rights have been taken away, otherwise do not join. There is no compulsion. If you are good then you will be inducted permanently after that (after four years). Are we the ones to decide whether it (service period under the scheme) should be made four years or five years or seven years?’

6 months is not enough for Agniveer training

Another petitioner, who took part in the arguments in person, said that he has retired from the Army and is now practicing law. He said that the authorities should be asked to reconsider the Agneepath scheme as the six-month training given to Agniveers is not sufficient. It is not easy to get trained in such a short time. He claimed that in this way the officers would compromise on national security and the quality of the soldiers would be affected.

Advocate Ankur Chhibber, appearing for another petitioner, said that in four years of service there would be no sense of belongingness among the personnel. He said that those who continue in service, their first four years will not be counted and they will have to start afresh. The court has sought clarity from the Center on this. To which Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that she would take instructions on this aspect and inform the bench on the next date of hearing on December 14.

Agneepath scheme made to cut costs!

During the hearing, advocate Kumud Lata Das, appearing for one of the petitioners, Harsh Ajay Singh, said that after being recruited under the scheme, there will be life insurance of Rs 48 lakh for firemen, which is much less than the earlier provision. The lawyer argued that whatever allowances the armed forces personnel are entitled to, Agniveer would get them only for four years. He said that if the period of service was for five years, he would have been entitled to gratuity.

The lawyer argued that after four years of service, only 25% of Agniveers would be considered for retention in the armed forces. There is no plan for the remaining 75 percent. Alleged that ‘the officials have prepared this plan to cut costs’.

On this, the court asked where the armed forces have mentioned that it is a cost-cutting exercise. Justice Prasad said, ‘Where has he said that this is a cost-cutting exercise? You want us to guess that this is a cost-cutting exercise? Unless they say so, your statement has no significance.

What is Agnipath Yojana?

Significantly, the Delhi High Court is hearing petitions challenging the Centre’s Agneepath scheme. The Agneepath scheme was launched on 14 June 2022 for the recruitment of youth in the armed forces (Agniveer Bharti). As per the rules of the scheme, youth in the age group of 17 ½ to 21 years are eligible to apply. On passing the exam, they will be inducted into the army for a tenure of four years.

Under the scheme, 25% of the youth recruited will be regularised. After the launch of Agneepath, protests against this scheme started in many states. Later the government increased the upper age limit for recruitment in 2022 to 23 years.

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