The Delhi High Court on Monday, February 27, upheld the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Armed Forces, dismissing a batch of petitions against it.  Stating the scheme was made in the national interest, to ensure that the Armed Forces are better equipped, the court said there was no reason to interfere with it.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad presided over the hearing. It also dismissed petitions relating to the recruitment process for the Armed Forces under certain previous advertisements, clarifying that such candidates do not have a right to seek recruitment, as per a report by PTI.

It may be noted the court had reserved its verdict on the batch of pleas against the Agnipath scheme on December 15 last year. The scheme, unveiled on June 14, 2022, lays out rules for the recruitment of youth in the Indian Armed Forces. According to these rules, those between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age are eligible to apply and they would be inducted for a four-year tenure.

The scheme then allows 25 per cent of the recruits to be granted regular service subsequently. After the Agnipath scheme was announced, protests erupted in several states against it, alleging that the upper age limit was too short, among other concerns. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022, as per PTI.