Delhi High Court to hear petitions against Agneepath scheme on July 20

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it will hear on July 20 several petitions challenging the Agneepath scheme of recruitment in the Army. The Agneepath scheme, announced on June 14, entitles youths in the age group of 17-and-a-half to 21 years to join the defense forces for only four years, of whom 25 percent is to be retained for an additional 15 years. There were protests in many states against this plan.

Later, the government increased the upper age limit for recruitment to 23 years in 2022. The High Court on Tuesday was hearing an application filed in a pending petition challenging the employment advertisement of the Indian Navy. The Navy reserves the right to select applicants by raising the cut-off marks in the Class 12th examination against the eligibility criteria already prescribed in the advertisement.

A bench of Chief Justice Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramaniam Prasad was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that similar cases challenging the Agneepath scheme are already pending before the High Court and should be heard together.

The bench directed that all such petitions be listed together for hearing on July 20. Let us inform you that on June 14, the government launched this scheme. After this, students took to the streets and agitated at many places against the plan. The opposition has called this scheme anti-national and against the youth.

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