HC to hear pleas challenging Centre's Agnipath Scheme on July 20

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Tuesday said it would hear on July 20 several pleas challenging the Centre's Agnipath Scheme.

The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youth in the Armed Forces between the age of 17-and-a-half and 21 for only four years with a 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 high court on Tuesday was hearing an application filed in a pending petition which challenges the Indian Navy's employment advertisement reserving its right for shortlisting applicants by increasing the cut-off marks obtained by them in class 12th examination, contrary to the already laid down eligibility criteria in the advertisement after their applications were received for recruitment as Person Below Officer Rank (PBOR) in the force.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that similar matters challenging the Agnipath scheme are already pending before the high court and they be heard together, The bench directed that all such petitions be listed together on July 20.