Agnipath Scheme: Reacting to the petitions filed in Supreme Court against the Agnipath scheme, the Centre on Tuesday filed a caveat application in the top court, asking to be heard on the matter before any order is passed on the matter. A Caveat application is filed by a litigant to ensure that no adverse order is passed against him or her without being heard.
A fresh petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking a direction to the Centre for reconsideration of the Agnipath scheme.
The plea, filed by Harsh Ajay Singh who is an advocate, has sought a direction for the constitution of a committee for providing inputs to the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and also to invite suggestions, including from retired Army officers, for amendments to the scheme for providing job opportunities to 75 per cent Agniveers, post retirement.
The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17.5 to 21 for four years with the provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Protests have erupted in several states against the scheme. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The petition claimed there are shortcomings in the Agnipath recruitment scheme, and says that with further discussion it would have been executed as a better reform. It claimed there is a great possibility of Agniveers trained under the scheme going astray and a four-year recruitment is insufficient to inculcate the values and ethos of the young brigade of Indian armed forces. The petitioner has also sought to stay implementation of the scheme.
Two petitions were earlier filed in the apex court on the issue. One of the petitions has sought a direction to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the damage to public properties, including that of the Railways, and violent protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme.
The plea has sought directions to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan governments to submit a status report on the violent protests. It has also sought a direction to set up an expert committee under the chairmanship of a retired apex court judge to examine the scheme and its impact on national security and the Army.
(With PTI Inputs)
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