Agnipath scheme: Delhi HC to hear pleas challenging cancellation of pending defence recruitment processes today

The petitioner Rahul from Haryana’s Hisar, in his plea, said that Army, Navy and Air Force issued several advertisements in 2020 and 2021 for recruitment to various posts. “The applicant along with lakhs of candidates applied for the posts under the abovementioned advertisements and appeared in the recruitment process, as asked, on several dates,” he said.

However, the plea said that the written examination for the posts were cancelled in light of the introduction of the Agnipath scheme. “Due to illegal and arbitrary cancellation of the recruitment process, where the candidates have already cleared the physical and medical examination, not only caused grave shock and immense pain but also violated the fundamental rights of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of The Constitution of India,” it said.

The Union government last month unveiled the Agnipath scheme for recruiting soldiers across the three services. Under the new scheme, around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers will be recruited annually, and most will leave the service in just four years. Of the total annual recruits, only 25 per cent will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission. The move will make the permanent force levels much leaner for the over 13-lakh strong armed forces in the country. This will, in turn, considerably reduce the defence pension bill, which has been a major concern for governments for many years.