Agnipath scheme valid, not arbitrary, says Supreme Court

Supreme Court said public interests outweigh other considerations upholding the validity of the Agnipath scheme.

The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the validity of the Centre's Agnipath scheme, rejecting two appeals and said the scheme is not arbitrary. Public interests outweigh other considerations, the Supreme Court said. The Supreme Court said candidates selected in the defence recruitment process before the introduction of the Agnipath scheme do not have a vested right to appointment.

The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Agnipath scheme in Army recruitment.

The Delhi high court in February upheld the validity of the Agnipath scheme against which two petitions were submitted to the Apex Court. The Delhi high court, in its order, said the Agnipath scheme was formulated in the national interest and to ensure that the armed forces are better equipped.

"Sorry, we would not like to interfere with the high court verdict. The high court had dealt with all the aspects", it said, while dismissing separate pleas filed by Gopal Krishan and advocate ML Sharma against the high court verdict.

The bench, however, posted a third fresh plea related to recruitment in the Indian Air Force (IAF) prior to the launch of the Agnipath scheme for hearing on April 17.

It asked the Centre to file its response to the third plea related to recruitment in the IAF.