Agnipath Scheme Under Fire; SC Comes to The Rescue

Agnipath Scheme Under Fire:-

After dismissing the two appeals filed against the Agnipath Scheme, the Supreme Court has finally upheld its validity.

The Matter Currently:

Apart from affirming its validity, the apex court conclusively determined that the scheme is not arbitrary and stated that Public interests outweigh other considerations. It ruled that the decision would not be retrospective, which means the candidates that have already been selected in the defense recruitment process before the introduction of the Agnipath scheme will not have a vested right to appointment. 

While dismissing the petitions, the Supreme Court bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and JB Pardiwala expressed, "Sorry, we would not like to interfere with the High Court verdict. The high court had dealt with all the aspects." 

Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud stated, "There is nothing for us to interfere with. It is a matter of public employment, not a contract."

What Happened Earlier?

Previously, the Delhi High Court had also decided that the Centre’s Agnipath scheme is valid. It stated in its order that the Agnipath scheme was formulated in the national interest and to ensure that the armed forces are better equipped. 

Before concluding, the division bench consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad referred to a series of judgments, which stated that,“unless a policy decision taken by the Government is demonstrably capricious or arbitrary or if it suffers from the vice of discrimination or infringes any statute or provisions of the Constitution, this Court is not to question the propriety of such a policy decision.”

This verdict of the High Court was challenged in the two petitions, which were filed by Advocate ML Sharma and Gopal Krishan separately. 

The bench has posted a third fresh plea for hearing on April 17 concerning the recruitment in the Indian Air Force (IAF) before the launch of the Agnipath scheme, asking the Centre to file its response in regards to the recruitment.

For more updates keep visiting our website www.topstoriesworld.com where we provide unbiased, true, and top stories of the world.