Khushi Bajpai
Published on: 25August, 2022 at 18:28 IST
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court requested a statement from the federal government in response to a number of petitions that questioned the Agni Path Scheme and demanded that enrolment in the defence forces resume under the old recruiting plan.
When scheduling the case for hearing on October 18, a division bench made up of Chief Judge Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad gave the centre four weeks to file a response to the pleas.
However, the bench flatly declined to issue any kind of temporary ruling in the case and announced that it would instead have a final hearing.
Aishwarya Bhati, the Additional Solicitor General, informed the court that a combined reply addressing recruitment for various positions will be prepared in response to the arguments raised in relation to the Agni Path initiative.
The court ruled that the centre must also provide a thorough response in each case because the bulk of the petitions address problems with recruitment advertisements for positions like soldier, airman, sailor, etc.
The petition requests that the centre be instructed to provide appointment letters to the petitioners after publishing the enrolment list in accordance with the 2019 announcement. It also asks for a directive that the Agni Path Scheme won’t have any impact on the 2019 notification.
Another petition against the Indian Navy’s hiring practices and criteria for shortlisting applicants for officer-level positions has been filed.
