Agnipath will ensure ‘more robust’ national security, Centre tells Delhi HC
Recruitment in the army is an essential sovereign function for upholding national security, the Union government has told the Delhi high court while defending the Agnipath hiring scheme for the defence forces, asking the court to not interfere with the policy.
Recruitment in the army is an essential sovereign function for upholding national security, the Union government has told the Delhi high court while defending the Agnipath hiring scheme for the defence forces, asking the court to not interfere with the policy.
In an affidavit filed through the defence ministry, the government said the structural changes in the army were necessitated in the context of the “sea change” in global military warfare “to evolve a youthful, modern and futuristic fighting force” and to infuse young blood into the army, who are mentally and physically fit.
The decision to implement the scheme comes under the “sovereign policymaking functions”of the central government, and the scope of judicial review is extremely limited, the affidavit said.
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“Therefore, the central government in exercise of its sovereign power and to effectively and efficiently safeguard the security and integrity of the country is duly empowered to change the policy providing the mode and methods/service conditions of the persons who are to be employed in the armed forces,” the affidavit read.
A bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad will hear at least seven petitions challenging the Agnipath scheme on Wednesday. In August, the division bench of high court had denied to stay the scheme and asked the union government to file a reply to the pleas.
Seeking dismissal of the pleas, the Centre has told the high court that defending Indian territory, which has a “peculiar border situation”, from external and internal threats, requires agile, youthful and technologically adept armed forces and the Agnipath scheme, therefore, aims at reducing the average age profile of soldiers from the present 32 years to 26 years.
“The peculiar border situation, the incessant threats and attempts to infiltrate the said borders by hostile neighbouring countries and non-state actors, India as a country needs a unique force which can handle the hostility, infiltrations, proxy war and external aggressions to keep our borders safe,” the Centre said in the affidavit filed on October 15.
Quoting opinions of military experts that the character of future wars and military engagements is likely to be ambiguous, uncertain, short, swift, lethal, intense, precise, non-linear, unrestricted, unpredictable and hybrid, the Centre said that “men and women serving the Armed Forces thus need to be physically fit, and mentally alert and should possess high risk-taking abilities”, adding that these abilities are accentuated in combative formations which are “young”.
It said the three wings of the Indian armed forces have been consistently, for the past few decades, decreasing the age profile of officers to achieve the aim of having a younger combative formation in the three services.
The army would attempt to maintain the youth versus experience ratio at 1: 1, and the total recruits hired under the Agnipath scheme will be kept below 50%, the government said, adding that with the introduction of the scheme, the leader to led ratio will become 1: 1 from the current ratio of 1: 1.28.
The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of young people between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years. Protests had erupted in several states against the scheme.
The government later extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The apex court on July 19 transferred before the Delhi high court all the pleas pending before it challenging the scheme. The top court has also asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, and Uttarakhand to transfer the public interest litigations against the Agnipath scheme pending before them to the Delhi high court, or keep it pending till a decision from it is delivered, if the petitioners before it so desire.
The Centre said that recruitment through the Agnipath scheme involves a “merit based, transparent and robust assessment process” and fair opportunity would be provided to all willing personnel to compete for the regular cadre, and ultimately, a “nationalist, disciplined and skilled manpower would be provided to society and exited Agniveers will be an asset for the nation and society”.
The government asserted while the scheme is “not an exercise aimed at reducing the budget”, it will contribute towards savings after 20 to 25 years, which can be better utilised for capability development, technology infusion and making the army strong, more capable and battle worthy, and aligned to future requirements.
It also clarified that Agnipath was “not linked to ‘right-sizing’ of Army” and that an independent study on manpower optimisation was already underway.
The affidavit said numerous consultations with stakeholders were undertaken during the past two years and the scheme envisages several benefits to the nation, including availability of a ready pool of trained and disciplined manpower for other sectors in government and private markets.
Besides, military discipline, physical fitness and pride for the country will be ingrained in the citizens, it added.
