Agnipath makes nationwide safety impenetrable; no authorized infirmity: Centre tells Delhi HC
8 min readBy PTI
NEW DELHI: Responding to petitions assailing ‘Agnipath’, the Centre has advised the Delhi High Court there is no such thing as a authorized infirmity within the scheme for recruitment within the armed forces which was launched within the train of its sovereign operate to make nationwide safety and defence extra “robust, impenetrable and abreast” with the altering army requirement.
The Centre’s stand got here on a consolidated counter affidavit filed in response to a number of petitions in opposition to the Agnipath scheme in addition to pleas regarding the recruitment processes for the armed forces beneath sure earlier ads.
The Agnipath scheme, introduced on June 14, supplies for the recruitment of younger folks between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age for less than 4 years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 extra years. Protests had erupted in a number of states in opposition to the scheme.
Later, the federal government prolonged the higher age restrict to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The Centre advised the High Court that defending the Indian territory, which has a ‘peculiar border scenario’, from exterior and inside threats requires agile, youthful and technologically adept armed forces and the Agnipath scheme, subsequently, goals at lowering the typical age profile of troopers from the current 32 years to 26 years.
Recruitment via the Agnipath scheme, the central authorities added, entails a “merit-based, transparent and robust assessment process” and a good alternative could be offered to all keen personnel to compete for normal cadre and finally “nationalist, disciplined and skilled manpower would be provided to society and exited Agniveers will be an asset for the nation and society”.
“The policy decision to introduce the scheme was taken by the Government of India in exercise of its sovereign function to make the national security/defence arrangements of the country more robust, impenetrable and abreast with the changing military requirement of the country,” stated the affidavit filed by the Centre because it asserted the current batch of petitions deserves to be dismissed on the threshold itself.
The scheme was launched to restructure the consumption and retention processes within the three companies with a view to evolving a youthful, trendy and futuristic combating power.
The goal of the ‘Agnipath’ scheme was to realize amongst different issues a younger fight power that’s bodily and mentally able to taking on the brand new challenges anticipated by specialists.
The authorities asserted whereas the scheme just isn’t an train geared toward lowering the funds, it can contribute in direction of financial savings after 20 to 25 years, which may be higher utilised for functionality improvement, expertise infusion and making the military sturdy, extra succesful and battle worthy, and aligned to the necessities of the longer term.
The authorities submitted with new army applied sciences, the traditional formations of the armed forces had been ‘shedding their edge’ which made structural modifications within the total organisation of the Indian armed forces a matter of necessity.
To preserve the armed forces match and combat-ready, specialists advised reformation to realize the golden thumb rule of armed forces being younger and match always, it stated.
“(There is) no legal infirmity in Agnipath scheme” The character of future wars/army engagement, within the opinion of army specialists, is prone to be ambiguous, unsure, brief, swift, deadly, intense, exact, non-linear, unrestricted, unpredictable and hybrid.
“These challenges would be exacerbated by the inherent nature of terrain along our borders which ranges from the Rann swampy marshes, jungles, deserts, riverine, hills, high altitude, mountains and glaciated regions, as well as isolated island territories. Defending such territory from external and internal threats requires an agile, youthful and technologically adept Armed Forces,” the affidavit stated.
It stated India’s safety atmosphere is outlined by a posh interaction of regional and world hostilities, proxy wars, infiltrations and armed aggressions.
The nation’s land and maritime borders face each conventional and non-traditional threats.
“Concurrently, our internal threats manifest in different dimensions including an on-going proxy war on the western front starting from the region of J&K. On the eastern front the organizations inimical to the nation’s interest are ambushing insurgencies. The Left-Wing Extremism in addition needs a strict vigil as it keeps on resurrecting intermittently,” it added.
It additionally clarified that Agnipath was not linked to the ‘right-sizing’ of the Army and that an impartial research on manpower optimisation was already underway.
The affidavit stated quite a few consultations with stakeholders had been undertaken in the course of the previous two years and the scheme envisages a number of advantages to the nation, together with the provision of a prepared pool of educated and disciplined manpower for different sectors within the authorities and personal market.
Besides, army self-discipline, bodily health and pleasure within the nation will probably be ingrained within the residents.
The Centre refuted the rivalry that the introduction of the Agnipath scheme with none modification to the Army act is unhealthy and void within the eyes of regulation.
It additionally rejected strategies that the scheme will probably result in militarisation of the society.
In its affidavit, the Centre additionally clarified that so far as the recruitment beneath earlier schemes is worried, there is no such thing as a ‘vested proper’ within the favour of the candidates and there’s no bar on it to discontinue an ongoing course of to introduce a brand new one.
The authorities stated that post-Independence, it has been its coverage to not increase any new regiment on the premise of a selected class, creed, neighborhood, faith or area and the recruitment beneath the Agnipath scheme is open to all eligible youth regardless of caste and faith.
NEW DELHI: Responding to petitions assailing ‘Agnipath’, the Centre has advised the Delhi High Court there is no such thing as a authorized infirmity within the scheme for recruitment within the armed forces which was launched within the train of its sovereign operate to make nationwide safety and defence extra “robust, impenetrable and abreast” with the altering army requirement.
The Centre’s stand got here on a consolidated counter affidavit filed in response to a number of petitions in opposition to the Agnipath scheme in addition to pleas regarding the recruitment processes for the armed forces beneath sure earlier ads.
The Agnipath scheme, introduced on June 14, supplies for the recruitment of younger folks between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age for less than 4 years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 extra years. Protests had erupted in a number of states in opposition to the scheme.
Later, the federal government prolonged the higher age restrict to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The Centre advised the High Court that defending the Indian territory, which has a ‘peculiar border scenario’, from exterior and inside threats requires agile, youthful and technologically adept armed forces and the Agnipath scheme, subsequently, goals at lowering the typical age profile of troopers from the current 32 years to 26 years.
Recruitment via the Agnipath scheme, the central authorities added, entails a “merit-based, transparent and robust assessment process” and a good alternative could be offered to all keen personnel to compete for normal cadre and finally “nationalist, disciplined and skilled manpower would be provided to society and exited Agniveers will be an asset for the nation and society”.
“The policy decision to introduce the scheme was taken by the Government of India in exercise of its sovereign function to make the national security/defence arrangements of the country more robust, impenetrable and abreast with the changing military requirement of the country,” stated the affidavit filed by the Centre because it asserted the current batch of petitions deserves to be dismissed on the threshold itself.
The scheme was launched to restructure the consumption and retention processes within the three companies with a view to evolving a youthful, trendy and futuristic combating power.
The goal of the ‘Agnipath’ scheme was to realize amongst different issues a younger fight power that’s bodily and mentally able to taking on the brand new challenges anticipated by specialists.
The authorities asserted whereas the scheme just isn’t an train geared toward lowering the funds, it can contribute in direction of financial savings after 20 to 25 years, which may be higher utilised for functionality improvement, expertise infusion and making the military sturdy, extra succesful and battle worthy, and aligned to the necessities of the longer term.
The authorities submitted with new army applied sciences, the traditional formations of the armed forces had been ‘shedding their edge’ which made structural modifications within the total organisation of the Indian armed forces a matter of necessity.
To preserve the armed forces match and combat-ready, specialists advised reformation to realize the golden thumb rule of armed forces being younger and match always, it stated.
“(There is) no legal infirmity in Agnipath scheme” The character of future wars/army engagement, within the opinion of army specialists, is prone to be ambiguous, unsure, brief, swift, deadly, intense, exact, non-linear, unrestricted, unpredictable and hybrid.
“These challenges would be exacerbated by the inherent nature of terrain along our borders which ranges from the Rann swampy marshes, jungles, deserts, riverine, hills, high altitude, mountains and glaciated regions, as well as isolated island territories. Defending such territory from external and internal threats requires an agile, youthful and technologically adept Armed Forces,” the affidavit stated.
It stated India’s safety atmosphere is outlined by a posh interaction of regional and world hostilities, proxy wars, infiltrations and armed aggressions.
The nation’s land and maritime borders face each conventional and non-traditional threats.
“Concurrently, our internal threats manifest in different dimensions including an on-going proxy war on the western front starting from the region of J&K. On the eastern front the organizations inimical to the nation’s interest are ambushing insurgencies. The Left-Wing Extremism in addition needs a strict vigil as it keeps on resurrecting intermittently,” it added.
It additionally clarified that Agnipath was not linked to the ‘right-sizing’ of the Army and that an impartial research on manpower optimisation was already underway.
The affidavit stated quite a few consultations with stakeholders had been undertaken in the course of the previous two years and the scheme envisages a number of advantages to the nation, together with the provision of a prepared pool of educated and disciplined manpower for different sectors within the authorities and personal market.
Besides, army self-discipline, bodily health and pleasure within the nation will probably be ingrained within the residents.
The Centre refuted the rivalry that the introduction of the Agnipath scheme with none modification to the Army act is unhealthy and void within the eyes of regulation.
It additionally rejected strategies that the scheme will probably result in militarisation of the society.
In its affidavit, the Centre additionally clarified that so far as the recruitment beneath earlier schemes is worried, there is no such thing as a ‘vested proper’ within the favour of the candidates and there’s no bar on it to discontinue an ongoing course of to introduce a brand new one.
The authorities stated that post-Independence, it has been its coverage to not increase any new regiment on the premise of a selected class, creed, neighborhood, faith or area and the recruitment beneath the Agnipath scheme is open to all eligible youth regardless of caste and faith.
