Agnipath Scheme : Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Plea To Complete Recruitment Process Initiated Earlier

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition challenging the Delhi High Court's judgement upholding the Agnipath Scheme, as per which those between 17-and-a-half and 23 years of age were made eligible to apply for armed forces to be inducted for a four-year tenure. 

Before the announcement of the Agnipath scheme, the Union Government had announced recruitments on various posts in the Air Force and Army. While the candidates were in the middle of recruitment process or were waiting for publication of the enrolment list, the union government announced the Agnipath scheme and cancellation of the pending recruitment processes. While upholding the Agnipath scheme, the Delhi High Court had also rejected the petitions seeking completion of recruitment processes initiated earlier by the Army and Air Force.

The petition before the bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala sought to challenge the Delhi High Court's decision to reject petitions seeking completion of recruitment processes initiated earlier by the Army and Air Force as many students were now becoming over age. 

 The petitioner divided the petition in following headings–

1. Issues arising out of examinations which were not conducted owing to COVID-19 pandemic;

2. Issues arising out of examinations which were conducted but for which results were not declared;

3. Issues arising out of examinations in which provisional select list was published but there was no recruitment made.

When the petitioner argued that regarding the batch where no result was declared, no finding was given by the High Court, the Supreme Court enquired why the petitioner did not approach the Delhi High Court to seek a review of its decision. The petitioner said 

"The only difficulty was that the students were now over age. The other petitions before relating to Army and Air Force concerning the non-conduction of examinations due to the Covid pandemic, the illegal postponement of exams, and the other batch concerning provisional select list being published but no joining- on these two issues, the Delhi High Court has given detailed findings." 

The bench then stated that the petitioner shall prepare a short note and the court will take up the matter at the earliest.