Agnipath Row: Centre Urges The SC To "Must Hear Its Side" Before Taking Decision

Advocate Vishal urged the SC to set up a committee

New Delhi: Ahead of the ongoing aggression towards the Agnipath Schemes for the Agniveers, The centre has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court urging that the court "must hear its side" before taking any decision on the petitions challenging the 'Agnipath' military recruitment scheme.

Till now, three petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against 'Agnipath'- the centre's short-term recruitment plan for the armed forces. The caveat, however, does not mention any plea in particular.

On Monday, Advocate Harsh Ajay Singh filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking issuance of directions to the centre to reconsider its 'Agnipath' recruitment plan. Moreover, the petition also mentioned that the announcement of the scheme caused protests in several parts of the country.

Earlier, two separate petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the scheme by lawyers ML Sharma and Vishal Tiwari respectively.

The petition filed by advocate ML Sharma had alleged that the government has quashed the century-old selection process for the armed forces which is contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having parliamentary approval.

Advocate Vishal Tiwari in his petition urged the Supreme Court to set up a committee to examine the scheme and its impact on national security and Army.

It pursued a direction from the top court to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the large-scale violence against the scheme that led to the destruction of public property.

Due to the aggression prevailed by the implementation of the scheme, Protests broke out in several states after the centre unveiled the 'Agnipath' scheme on June 14. Under the scheme, people between 17.5 and 21 years will be recruited into the armed forces for four years, followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.

Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022 in a bid to pacify the protesters.   

Several opposition parties, as well as some military veterans, have criticized the scheme, they say that the four-year tenure will hit the fighting spirit of the soldiers and make them risk-averse.