Agnipath scheme: SC transfers PILs pending before it, other HCs to Delhi HC

New Delhi, July 19: The Supreme Court has transferred various pleas challenging the Agnipath Scheme to the Delhi High Court. On Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud directed the Registrar General to transfer these pleas to the Delhi High Court and clarified that as other similar petitions challenging the Agnipath Scheme are pending in other various High Courts, the concerned High Courts should either give an option to the petitioners to either have their petitions transferred to the Delhi High Court or to keep their petitions pending with liberty to petitioners to intervene in the Delhi High Court. The apex court stated that it cannot pass the buck and deprive itself of the reasoning of the High Court. SC also requested the Delhi High Court to take up the matter and dispose of it expeditiously. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the top court that various petitions challenging the newly implement Agnipath recruitment scheme have been filed before various High Courts. The SC noted a consolidated chart of High Court cases presented by SG Tushar Mehta. The High Courts of Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand are hearing matters related to the scheme. Also Read | For first-time ever, Rupee hits all-time low of 80 against US dollar The apex court's directions came after hearing advocates Kumud Lata Das and ML Sharma for petitioners and SG Tushar Mehta for respondents. Notably, multiple petitions have been filed before the top court challenging the Agnipath recruitment scheme for defence forces. The Central government has also filed a caveat application in the Court urging it to hear the government in the petitions filed before the top court challenging the Agnipath scheme. A PIL has been filed by advocate Harsh Ajay Singh demanding the Centre review the Agnipath military recruitment scheme. According to the petition, the announcement of the scheme sparked protests in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and other states due to its four-year tenure in the Indian Army and the unpredictability of the future of the trained "Agniveers" The lawyer has also asked for a stay in the scheme's implementation beginning on June 24, 2022. Also Read | Shiv lingam melts before Amarnath yatra concludes -PTC News