Petitions against Agnipath scheme: Supreme Court asks Delhi HC to decide first

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to transfer to it petitions filed in several high courts challenging the Agnipath scheme, and sent three such petitions before it to the Delhi HC for adjudication.

A bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala urged the HC to expeditiously decide on the matter.

Other HC where such petitions were filed could provide an option to the petitioners to either have their pleas transferred to the Delhi HC, or keep the petitions pending with the liberty to the petitioners to move the Delhi HC and intervene in similar proceedings, the Supreme Court said.

HCs hearing similar pleas are Delhi, Kerala, Punjab & Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta furnished a consolidated chart of cases filed before various HCs.

Relegating the three petitions filed before it to the Delhi HC, the SC observed: “In our view, multiplicity of petitions on subject will not be desirable or proper. One option would be to consolidate all cases … However, doing so will deprive the court of the benefit of the reasoning of the HC dealing with validity of the scheme.”