A legal hurdle cropped up against the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment into the armed forces on Monday when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that upheld the Modi government's ambitious policy.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, which was initially reluctant to entertain the plea, asked the petitioner to approach the high court seeking a review of its decision.
The petitioner's counsel said the plea relates to a halt in recruitment. The court then asked the lawyer to submit a note and posted the matter for hearing on April 10.
"Counsel for the contesting parties shall file their brief notes of submissions at least two days before the next date of listing, which shall be e-mailed," the bench said.
The high court had, on February 27, said the Agnipath scheme was formulated in the national interest, with a laudable objective of maintaining national security.
The court had dismissed a batch of petitions assailing the validity of the scheme while terming it a "well-thought" policy decision of the Centre. Besides the pleas challenging the Agnipath scheme, the court had also rejected a bunch of petitions relating to the recruitment process in the armed forces under certain previous advertisements while clarifying that such candidates do not have a right to seek recruitment.
Dismissing the pleas relating to the previous advertisements, the high court had said the Agnipath scheme is in "public interest" and the aspirants cannot claim any right to seek recruitment on account of their participation in the processes initiated under notifications issued prior to the introduction of the new policy.
(With PTI input)
